Supreme Court issues notice on Kamaal R Khan plea to transfer defamation case by Manoj Bajpayee from Indore to Mumbai; no interim relief

The Supreme Court recently issued notice in a transfer plea moved by actor and producer Kamaal R Khan in the defamation case filed against him by actor Manoj Bajpayee for calling him charsi/gangedi in tweets [Kamaal Rashid Khan v Manoj Bajpayee]..A Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar issued notice and directed Bajpayee to file his reply within two weeks..Bajpayee had filed a defamation case against Khan for allegedly calling him a charsi/ganjedi (drug addict) on Twitter in 2021.On December 13, 2022, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had dismissed Khan's plea seeking quashing of defamation case against him.Last week, an Indore court had issued an arrest warrant against Khan. This prompted Khan to move the Supreme Court..During the hearing before the apex court, counsel representing Khan pointed out that since both parties were residing in Mumbai, the Indore court has no jurisdiction. Therefore, he sought transfer of the case to Mumbai.On the other hand, counsel for Bajpayee argued that the entire cause of action arose in Indore, the witnesses who have deposed before the magistrate are residents of Indore and the effect of the tweets had been felt throughout the country including Indore. By virtue of these facts, the Indore court had jurisdiction to hear the case, it was contended.It was also stated that Khan has not come to the Court with clean hands, having suppressed the fact that the ground of jurisdiction was already taken up by him before the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which rejected the same.It was further argued that the magistrate has already passed a reasoned order, after taking cognizance of the case and has satisfied himself with the aspect of jurisdiction and convenience of parties.Bajpayee's counsel alleged that Khan is a habitual offender for posting defamatory content against various celebrities, and has been prosecuted for such by various courts..Counsel for Khan then prayed for an interim stay on the arrest warrants issued by the Indore court.The Court refused the same and directed Khan to appear before the Indore court on the next date fixed for hearing..Senior Advocate Brijender Chahar along with advocates Kamal Pundir, Durgesh Gupta, Anil Kumar Sharma, Vinod Kumar Tewari, Priya and Amit Kumar represented Khan.Advocates Mayank Kshirsagar, Paresh Joshi, Abha Goel and Akhilesh Yadav represented Bajpayee..[Read order]