A court in Mettur on Friday issued a non-bailable warrant against film actress Khushboo for her failure to appear in court in connection with a defamation suit filed against her for her comments on pre-marital sex by women.

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When the case came up before Judicial Magistrate S Sridharan, the actress was not present and her advocate filed a petition seeking to dispense with her presence citing the inclement weather and some engagements as the reasons.

The Magistrate then issued the NBW and posted the case for hearing on December 16.

On November 9, the Madras High Court had stayed all further proceedings against the actress on complaints lodged against her in magistrate courts at Tiruvannamalai and Ariyalur districts of Tamil Nadu for her statements.

The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, on October 25, had also stayed the implementation of a warrant issued by a Tiruchirappali court for her appearance in another defamation case against her for the same remarks.

Both the Madras High Court and its Madurai Bench had also allowed petitions filed by her for dispensing with her appearance.