Youtuber Siddiquee who was sued by Ram Setu star Akshay Kumar recently reply sent through his advocate JP Jayswal on 20 November, claimed the allegations made by Akshay Kumar claiming Rs. 500 Cr defamation suit, were “false, vexatious and oppressive and is raised with an intent to harass him”. The reply further claimed that every Indian citizen has the fundamental right to freedom of speech.
Akshay Kumar had issued a defamation notice against Siddiquee for making “false and baseless allegations” against him. In response to the defamation notice, YouTuber Rashid Siddiquee has opposed the notice issued against him.
Actor Akshay Kumar in connection with the Sushant Singh Rajput death case , had issued the notice to the YouTuber and refused to pay Rs 500 crore damages sought by the star, claiming there was nothing defamatory in his videos.
YouTuber Siddiquee, Akshay Kumar’s Rs 500 Crore Defamation Claim Oppressive
The YouTuber also urged Akshay Kumar to withdraw the notice, failing which he would initiate “appropriate legal proceedings” against the actor.
Akshay Kumar had on 17 November issued a defamation notice against Rashid Siddiquee seeking ₹ 500 crores in damages for making “false and baseless allegations” against him in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.
Akshay Kumar, notice sent through law firm IC Legal, said Rashid Siddiquee in his YouTube channel FF News has published several “defamatory, libellous and derogatory” videos.
“The news reported by Siddiquee was already in the public domain and he (Siddiquee) has placed reliance on other news channels as sources,” the reply stated.
The reply further claimed that every Indian citizen has the fundamental right to freedom of speech.
It added that the content uploaded by Siddiquee cannot be considered as defamatory and that they are to be treated as viewpoints with objectivity.
“The news reported by Siddiquee was already in the public domain and he (Siddiquee) has placed reliance on other news channels as sources,” the reply said.
It further questioned the delay in the defamation notice sent and said the videos were uploaded in August 2020.
“The damages of Rs 500 crore are absurd and unwarranted and are made with the intent to pressurise Siddiquee,” the reply said.
Siddiquee sought Kumar to withdraw the notice and said if it is not done, he would initiate appropriate legal proceedings.
The YouTuber from Bihar further claimed that the actor was selectively targeting him.
“Akshay Kumar faced severe backlash after interviewing an influential politician, whereby thousands of people have made personal remarks against him on various YouTube videos and websites. Surprisingly, Kumar has not taken any action on the same, however, he has selectively chosen Siddiquee to saddle the blame of defamation,” the reply said.
The Mumbai police have also filed a case against Siddiquee on charges of defamation, public mischief and intentional insult for his posts against Mumbai police, the Maharashtra government and minister Aaditya Thackeray.
Siddiquee was on November 3 granted anticipatory bail by a local court here, which directed him to cooperate in the probe.