Justice RI Chagla has directed Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s brother and their attorneys to attend a meeting in his chambers on 3 May 2023 to discuss the possibility of settling their dispute.
This comes after the Bombay High Court ordered Siddiqui’s brother to remove any allegedly defamatory content posted against the actor, given the potential for a settlement.
The defamation suit filed by Attorney Sunil Kumar alleges that Siddiqui’s brother and his ex-wife Anjana Pandey aka Zainab Siddiqui made false statements about the actor.
Siddiqui’s attorney, Abhinav Chandrachud, stated that no specific relief was sought against Pandey as she was engaged in settlement negotiations.
Shamsuddin’s advocate, Rumi Mirza, requested that Justice Chagla mediate the dispute between the brothers.
However, Chandrachud argued that the defamatory comments were made through Shamsuddin’s social media accounts and urged the court to prohibit him from posting any additional defamatory content and to order him to remove the current comments.
Mirza added that the actor had also made disparaging remarks about the brother and should refrain from tweeting.
Chandrachud opposed this, stating that the brother could not seek relief in Siddiqui’s defamation lawsuit without providing evidence to support the claim.
Justice Chagla requested that both parties refrain from making any negative comments about each other to ensure fairness.
“In view of settlement talks, there will not be any posts against each other, there will be no aspersions cast against each other, in view of possibility of amicable settlement. It is to maintain equity between parties so that there are no further posts against each other,” the Court stated.
Furthermore, the court observed that Mirza had assured that his client would not post or publish any further tweets containing allegedly defamatory content.
Siddiqui had filed a defamation suit in March, claiming 100 crore in damages from his brother and ex-wife. He had also sought a permanent injunction against the defendants, prohibiting them from making any defamatory statements about him in the media or on any other platform.
Additionally, the actor had demanded that his brother and estranged wife issue a public apology for their defamatory statements against him.
