Kangana Ranaut's Big Blow: HC Dismisses Plea Over Elderly Farmer Woman's Defamation Case

Chandigarh (The Uttam Hindu): Bollywood actress and BJP MP from Mandi Kangana Ranaut has received a big setback from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The High Court has dismissed Kangana's petition in the defamation case filed over the comment made on an elderly woman during the farmers' movement. In this petition, she had demanded the cancellation of criminal proceedings going on against her in the Bathinda court.

A single bench of Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya made it clear in its judgment on Friday that prima facie a case is made out against Kangana under Sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The High Court has also upheld the summons order issued to Kangana by the Bathinda magistrate as completely legal.

This controversy started with a tweet made by Kangana Ranaut during the farmers' movement. She retweeted a picture and wrote, "Ha ha ha, this is the same grandmother who appeared in Time magazine as the most influential Indian... and she is available for Rs 100."

This tweet had a picture of Mahinder Kaur, an elderly woman from Bathinda. Mahinder Kaur had filed a complaint in the court saying that Kangana had deliberately insulted her by calling her Delhi's Shaheen Bagh protester 'Bilkis Bano' to tarnish her image.

Kangana's lawyer had argued that her intention was not wrong and the tweet was made in 'good faith'. However, the court did not accept this argument. The court also rejected Kangana's argument that the complaint was made only against her, while the person who originally posted the tweet was not made a party. The High Court upheld the lower court's decision, saying that the magistrate had issued the summons only after following all the evidence and procedure. After this decision, Kangana Ranaut will now have to face a defamation case in Bathinda court.

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