India, April 29 -- The Bombay High Court has deferred a long-running defamation case for 20 years, calling it a "battle of egos" that is burdening the judicial system.

A bench led by Justice Jitendra Jain directed that the matter be listed only after 2046, despite one of the plaintiffs being 90 years old. The court said the case would not be given priority solely on the basis of age.

The case was filed in 2017 by Tariniben (90) and Dhvani Desai (57) against Kilkilraj Bhansali and others, seeking Rs.20 crore in damages over alleged incidents during a housing society meeting in 2015. The plaintiffs claimed mental harassment and distress.

The court noted that the dispute had dragged on for years without resolution and criticised it for cl...