Ooty Judicial Magistrate R Subramaniam, in a defamation case filed by a journalist, ordered summons to eight actors including Suriya, Sathyaraj, Sarath Kumar (President of South India Film Artistes Association) and Sripriya to appear before the court on December 19.

The case was related to a condemnation meeting organised by the SIFAA on October 7, 2009, after a Tamil daily carried a report which allegedly brought disrepute to some actresses. At the meeting, many actors came down heavily on the media and journalists.

Rozario filed a defamation case as a private complaint in the Ooty Magistrate Court. 'After several hearings and cross verification of at least three witnesses, a prima facie case was made out by the court. Subsequently, the court ordered to issue summons to the eight cine actors,' said K Vijayan and P Senthilkumar, counsels of the complainant.

Meanwhile, even as he is in a legal tangle, Suriya has got something to rejoice about.  The actor will be a guest at the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of India (IffI) on December 3. He will be joined by eminent French filmmaker Luc Besson.

Hollywood action actor Michelle Yeoh of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" fame will also be attending the closing ceremony.