Shaheen Bagh Dadi Tweet: Kangana Ranut Moves Punjab And Haryana High Court, Seeks to Quash Defamation Case
(Judicial Quest News Network)
Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has filed a petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, challenging the criminal defamation proceedings initiated on the complaint of Mahinder Kaur before the Magistrate Court, Bathinda.
In a complaint filed in the month of January 2021, Mahinder Kaur had alleged that during the farmer protest, Kangana had made a defamatory tweet wherein “false imputations and remarks” were made against her. In the tweet Mahinder Kaur was compared with the “Dadi” at Shaheen Bagh and it was stated that such protestors could be hired.
Based on the said alleged tweet, the lady farmer, filed a complaint before the Magistrate Court, Bathinda, seeking initiation of criminal proceedings U/s 499/500 for defamation against Kangana Ranaut as she had made false imputations.
The magistrate Court Bathinda on the Complaint of Mahinder Kaur had summoned Ranaut on 22.02.2022.
Kangana Ranaut has sought quashing and setting aside the proceedings initiated by the Magistrate Court Bathinda through her counsel Mr. Abhinav Sood.
The matter is listed today before the court of Hon’ble Justice Meenaksi I. Mehta.
Last year Kangana Ranaut was stopped by protesting farmers, in Punjab’s Ropar district demanding an apology for her alleged remarks on the farmers who had been protesting against the central Agriculture laws last year. The actor alleged she was “attacked” by a mob, who “abused” and “threatened to kill her”.
In November 2021 Kangana Ranaut had filed an FIR against Manpreet Singh and others of Bathinda who had issued her life threat on Facebook.
Kangana’s plea states that the actor, without any intention to cause malicious imputation to the complaint, had just re-tweeted the alleged tweet.
The Petition further stated that despite clearing misconception, regarding alleged tweet the Petitioner being a celebrity had fallen prey to a group of people with ill motives The petitioner consequently even proceeded to delete the said re-tweet.
to the utter shock and surprise of the Petitioner on 4 December 2020 when the Petitioner was on her way to Chandigarh airport from her native place in Kullu Himachal Pradesh a mob of Protesting farmers stopped the vehicle of the Petitioner at Ropar district Punjab for two hours it is submitted that in this regard the Petitioner had posted video message on her lnstagram account wherein it was mentioned by the Petitioner that she was attacked by a mob who abused and threatened to kill her it is submitted that the said video of the Petitioner was circulated widely on social media platforms wherein she was seen interacting with the protesting women and has even clarified that the alleged tweet was not against the woman farmer but against the protesters at Shaheen Bagh Thus the Petitioner has categorically clarified the misconception about the alleged retweet even by way of abovementioned video and therefore the continuation of the impugned proceedings emanating against the Petitioner is clearly an abuse of the process of Law as the Petitioner has not made any mockery or lowered the reputation of the
It is also submitted in the case that all allegations made in petition are completely false and patently absurd. It has also been argued that the Magistrate has gravely erred and in a very cryptic manner observed that the defences provided undersection 499 IPC cannot be looked at the stage of issuing summon to the accused as U/S 202, CrPC the scope of the inquiry limited.
