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A magisterial court in Mumbai on Saturday issued an arrest warrant against Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt for not appearing before it to answer a complaint of criminal intimidation filed by producer Shakill Noorani, reports Hindustan Times.

Noorani’s complaint dates back to 2013 when the producer alleged he had received threats from gangsters on Dutt's behalf to settle a dispute about a film that the actor allegedly did not complete. According to Noorani, Dutt had promised to do his film Jaan ki Bazi, for which he was paid Rs40 lacs. Dutt has allegedly neither completed the film nor returned the payment.

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Noorani’s lawyers Niraj Gupta and Nisha Arora claimed that the court has been issuing summons to Dutt since 2013, which have been ignored. Dutt's prison sentence in connection with the 1993 bomb blast case has also prevented the case from proceeding.

As the actor failed to answer the most recent summons, the court has on Saturday evening issued an arrest warrant against him.

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Dutt's non-appearance is due to a communication breakdown with his lawyers, says his spokesperson:

“This case has been going on since a long time and the present situation has arisen because of the communication lapse between our lawyers and us. We respect the urgency shown by the honourable court regarding our attendance/representation and we would take immediate measure to rectify the situation."

The next hearing is on August 29.