Hearing in Nagarjuna's defamation case against Minister Surekha postponed

HYDERABAD: The hearing of actor Akkineni Nagarjuna's defamation case against Telangana Minister Konda Surekha was postponed on Friday at the Nampally Court. The hearing was delayed as the presiding judge was on leave, with the next session now set for Monday.

Nagarjuna filed the defamation suit in response to remarks made by Minister Konda Surekha, which the actor claims were defamatory towards his family. The suit was filed under Section 356 BNS, demanding action against what he called damaging statements. The minister’s comments, made during a recent press conference, were widely broadcast on social media, television channels, and published in newspapers. Nagarjuna submitted related media clippings to the court as part of his evidence.

In his petition, Nagarjuna explained that the comments were particularly shocking to him and had severely damaged the reputation of the Akkineni family. He also refuted the allegations against BRS Working President K Taraka Rama Rao, which were linked by the minister to a local demolition issue. Nagarjuna clarified that his convention centre had no connection with these allegations, nor did the claims have anything to do with the divorce of his son, Naga Chaitanya, from actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu.

The actor stressed that the minister's remarks, which gained traction on national news channels, had a detrimental impact on his personal and family reputation, particularly given his standing as an actor, producer, and television host. He believes that the minister deliberately targeted the Akkineni family, which led to the filing of this lawsuit to seek justice.

The court is expected to continue the hearing on Monday, during which further proceedings will be decided. This includes examining the facts behind the minister's statements and their alleged impact on the Akkineni family.