Kangana Ranaut fails to get defamation case quashed in Punjab, HC junks plea

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a petition filed by actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut for quashing a defamation complaint against her by a Bathinda-based elderly protester. Ranaut had sought quashing of the criminal complaint filed under Sections 499 and 500 of the IPC, as well as the summoning order and all subsequent proceedings in the matter.

Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya held: “The order has been passed after due application of mind to the facts of the case, by examining the preliminary evidence in the light of relevant provisions of law”. The case arose from Ranaut’s retweeted message during the farmers’ protests against the now-repealed farm laws.

Justice Dahiya asserted “There are specific allegations against the petitioner, who is a celebrity, that false and defamatory imputations by her in the retweet have dented the respondent’s reputation and lowered her in her own estimation, as also in the eyes of others. Therefore, filing of the complaint to vindicate her rights cannot be termed mala fide”.

In her retweet, Ranaut had commented: “Ha ha ha she is the same dadi who featured in Time magazine for being the most powerful Indian…. And she is available in 100 rupees. Pakistani jurno’s have hijacked international PR for India in an embarrassing way. We need our own people to speak for us internationally.”

This was in reference to a tweet by one Gautam Yadav, which carried the photograph of the complainant, Mahinder Kaur. In her complaint before Bathinda Judicial Magistrate First Class, she alleged that the message had falsely compared her to another elderly woman associated with the Shaheen Bagh protests and featured in Time magazine. She had absolutely no concern with the other woman, with whom she had been compared. She contended that the defamatory content not only hurt her pride and honour, but also lowered her reputation among fellow protestors.

She stated that she belonged to a farming family, actively participated in the farmers’ agitation, and that the remarks made by Ranaut — who now serves as a Member of Parliament from Mandi — had subjected her to public ridicule and caused mental distress. She was represented by senior advocate GK Mann and counsel Aditya Dassaur and Armaan Sandhu,

After considering the matter, the high court found no merit in the petition and dismissed it. The Bench of Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya did not accept the argument for quashing the complaint and the summoning order.