Payal Ghosh's lawyer explains not appearing in Richa Chadha's defamation suit; makes claim

Payal Ghosh's lawyer Advocate Nitin Satpute responded to reports of Bombay High Court's adjournment of the hearing of actor Richa Chadha's defamation suit citing the absence of representation from Payal's end. He took to Twitter to claim that "no notice was served" to Payal even on WhatsApp. He went onto state that he will appear in court on October 7 which is the next date of hearing as decided by the High court on Tuesday.

"It’s false to say that advocate failed to appear in court as no notice was served that time even on WhatsApp as claimed. Notice served on 5/6/2020 at Payal Ghosh residence, now Will appears in court on 7th Oct.", wrote Satpute on Twitter.

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Bollywood actor Richa Chadha has filed a defamation suit against actor Payal Ghosh and others for dragging her name into the alleged sexual assault case filed by Ghosh against filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. The hearing for Richa's case took place via video conferencing before a judge from Bombay High Court where Richa's lawyers claimed to have served notices to Ghosh and other respondents. However, there was no representation from Payal Ghosh so the High Court has deferred the matter to Wednesday, October 7.

Read | Payal Ghosh seeks Narco-Polygraph-Lie Detector test for Kashyap, alleges threat to life

In the interim, fresh notices will be issued to the respondents in the defamation charges levelled by Richa Chadha. The actor is seeking quick and permanent relief against Payal Ghosh and others for allegedly dragging her in the sexual assault case concerning different people. Richa Chadha has claimed that Ghosh's intention of bringing up her name is to cause damage to her reputation and goodwill in the film industry. She has also termed Ghosh's claims as false, frivolous and vexatious.

Read | Richa Chadha 'an actor not a revolutionary'; lists lockdown 'prep' amid Payal Ghosh row

Meanwhile, Payal Ghosh has sought guidance from National Commission for Women (NCW) chief Rekha Sharma to decide on the future course of action in light of the MeToo movement against Anurag Kashyap. The director was summoned by Mumbai Police on October 1 following Ghosh's FIR against him with allegations of rape, assault, forceful confinement and other charges. On expressing dissatisfaction with his testimony, Ghosh has also applied for Narco test, polygraph graph and lie detector test in addition to a separate complaint lodged with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) under the NDPS Act.

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