Arrest warrant issued against Kamaal R Khan in Manoj Bajpayee defamation case

• Bajpayee filed a case against Khan after the latter, in a few tweets in 2021, allegedly called him a drug addict
• Indore district court issued an arrest warrant against Khan and posted the next hearing of the case to May 10
• Earlier, the court had issued bailable warrants against Khan for not remaining present before the court

The Indore District Court has issued an arrest warrant against film producer-actor Kamal Rashid Khan alias KRK for not remaining present in a defamation case filed against him by actor Manoj Bajpayee.

Bajpayee filed a lawsuit against Khan after he allegedly called him a drug addict in several tweets in 2021.

A First Class Judicial Magistrate in Indore on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for Khan and posted the next hearing of the case to May 10, said Bajpayee's lawyer, Advocate Paresh Joshi. The court had earlier issued bail orders against Khan for failing to appear before the court, he said.

Bajpayee said in the application that Khan was aware of the case against him, but it does not appear that he intentionally caused the delay. Khan's lawyer said the case against him should have been stayed because he had moved to the Supreme Court.

On 13 December 2022, the Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissed Khan's plea seeking the dismissal of the defamation case against him.

Khan's lawyers argued in the Supreme Court that one of the "KRK box office" Twitter accounts from which the relevant tweet was posted in 2021 was "sold" to one Saleem Ahmed in October 2020.

He never intentionally wrote anything against Bajpayee, his lawyers said.