Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has been summoned by a Mumbai court after the city police informed it that an offence of defamation was made out by lyricist Javed Akhtar against the actor and further probe into it was required.

In December 2020, the Andheri metropolitan magistrate directed the city police to conduct an inquiry into the matter after Akhtar filed a defamation case against Ranaut in November last year.

The police submitted their report to the court on Monday, stating that offences alleged by the complainant against Ranaut are made out for further investigation.

After perusing the report by the police, Magistrate R R Khan issued summons to Kangana Ranaut. The hearing for the matter is set for March 1.

Akhter's lawyer, Jay Kumar Bharadwaj, told the court on Monday that the police issued summons to Ranaut last month, asking her to remain present before the police for recording her statement. The actor is however yet to respond.

Akhtar alleged that Kangana had made defamatory comments against him in an interview, by dragging his name while referring to a "coterie" existing in Bollywood, following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June last year.

The lyricist in his plea claimed that the "baseless comments" made by Ranaut had caused damage to his reputation.