Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Rs 100 Crore Defamation Suit Dismissed

The Bombay High Court has dismissed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit filed by Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui against his brother Shamasuddin Siddiqui and former wife Anjana Pandey. The case, which had attracted significant attention due to the massive compensation sought and the high-profile parties involved, was struck down on Friday for non-prosecution after the actor and his legal team repeatedly failed to appear in court.

Justice Jitendra Jain, presiding over a single-judge bench, dismissed the suit when neither Siddiqui nor his advocate showed up to proceed with the case. The court's decision closes this chapter of an intensely personal legal battle that had exposed deep rifts within the actor's family.

According to the suit filed by the Gangs of Wasseypur star, the dispute dates back to 2008 when he appointed his younger brother Shamasuddin as his manager. Siddiqui claimed he entrusted Shamasuddin with complete control over his finances, including credit cards, bank accounts, signed checkbooks, and passwords, while he focused on his acting career.

The actor alleged that his brother betrayed this trust by misappropriating over Rs 21 crore from his accounts to purchase properties that were registered as joint ownership rather than solely in Nawazuddin's name. The properties in question included luxury flats in Mumbai's Versova area, a farmhouse in Shahpur, land in Buldhana, a property in Dubai, and more than a dozen high-end vehicles including Range Rovers and BMWs.

When confronted about these transactions, Siddiqui claimed his brother instigated his ex-wife to file false cases against him, including allegations of rape and cheating. The actor further alleged that Pandey had misrepresented herself as an unmarried Muslim before their marriage, when she was actually Hindu and already married to someone else.

The suit detailed serious financial irregularities during Shamasuddin's tenure as manager. Siddiqui alleged that his brother failed to file income tax returns and pay GST dues, resulting in outstanding government demands of Rs 37 crore. After terminating Shamasuddin's services in 2020, the actor reportedly received multiple legal notices from tax authorities.

Siddiqui also claimed that his brother had secretly recorded private conversations and meetings, creating a repository of videos and voice notes to use as blackmail material. When the actor demanded his properties back, he alleged that both Shamasuddin and Pandey began posting defamatory content on social media, severely damaging his reputation and causing film projects to be postponed.

In his petition, Siddiqui described suffering from trauma and depression due to the situation, stating that the negative publicity had brought his 23 years of hard work to the ground. He claimed the defamation made him feel too embarrassed to attend social gatherings or appear in public.

Advocates representing Shamasuddin strongly contested the allegations. Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, appearing for the brother, stated that the entire case was baseless with no justified claims, filed merely to pressure his client in their personal financial disputes.

The dismissal for non-prosecution means the court did not examine the merits of the case, leaving the parties to resolve their differences outside the courtroom for now.