Kangana Ranaut Asked To Appear In Person In Court In Punjab Farmer Defamation Case
Earlier, Ranaut’s plea to quash the case was rejected by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. She later approached the Supreme Court.
A local court in Punjab's Bathinda has directed actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut to appear in person on October 27 in connection with a defamation case, rejecting her request to attend proceedings via video conference.
The case relates to Ranaut’s retweet during the 2020–21 farmers’ protests, where she allegedly misidentified Mahinder Kaur, a 73-year-old farmer from Bathinda, as Bilkis Bano of Shaheen Bagh fame. Kaur accused the actor of making “false imputations” and defamatory remarks in her post.
Ranaut’s counsel had sought an exemption from personal appearance, but the court dismissed the plea after hearing both sides. Advocate Raghubir Singh Beniwal, representing Kaur, argued that the law does not allow exemption for the accused at the initial stage and pressed for her physical presence.
"We opposed Kangana Ranaut's application because the law does not provide for an accused to be exempted from appearance at the initial stage of the case. We requested the court to ensure her presence, and in case of absence, to issue arrest warrants," Beniwal said.
Earlier, Ranaut’s plea to quash the case was rejected by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. She later approached the Supreme Court, which on September 12 remarked that her post was “not a simple retweet” but one where she had “added spice.” Following this, Ranaut withdrew her petition.
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