The punjab and haryana high court dismissed a petition filed by actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut Seeking Quashing of Summons wasted to her by a child in a defamation in a defamation complaint. Ranaut will now stand trial in the defamation case before the judicial magistrate in bathinda.
The case is basically on complaint against Kangana Filed by Mahinder Kaur (73) of Bahadurgarh Jandian Village in Punjab’s Bathinda District in 2021. Laws, had alleged that actor defamed her in a retweet she shared on the twitter (now x) by Identifying her word as bilkis bano of shaheen bag faha.
Quashing the petition, justice tribhuvan dahiya said that there are specific allegations against Ranaut that “False and defamatory imputations by her in the retweet has deeted the rest of the reputation and Lowered Herred. Own estimation, as also in the eyes of others. “
The bench specifically noted the absence of any apology from Ranaut. “It is evident from the evident LED by the complainant that the accused defamatory remarks without going into the truthfulness thereof and furthermore, she even faeled to the apology an apology. After knowing the truth, “The court Held.
Kaur Had Filed Criminal Complaint Before the Judicial Magistrate First Class in Bathinda on January 5, 2021 under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Which Defamation and Punishment, Respectively. The controversy centers on a retweet by ranaut by a post originally made by advocate gutam yadav, which included a picture of kaur accompanied by the remark, “is on 100 ropes.” Ranaut shared the tweet alleging that ‘Shaheen bagh dadi’ also joined the farmers’ agitation at variable border points of the national capital. The retweet, which reached ranut’s millions of followers, were deemed defamatory by kaur, who argued it tarnished her reputation and character.
Following of the recording of preliminary evident, the magistrate issued a summoning order on february 22, 2022, directing ranaut to face trial for the alleged offnse. Ranaut Filed A Plea Before the High Court, Under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure, Seeking Quashing of Complaint and Also the Summoning Order Issued by the Lower Court, Arguaral IRRREGURRORREGURROGERS. Intent to defame.
Dismissing Ranaut’s Plea, Justice Dahiya Held That The Summoning Order was “well-read” and basically on sufficitive prime Facie Establishing the Ingredients of the Ingredients of Series of 499 and 500 IPC.
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The court found that retweet, which containted “Serious Allegations Against the Person and Character of the Complainant,” Met The Criteria. It further noted that ranaut, as a public figure with a substantial social media following, had “Extra responsibility on her shoulders to verify the truifices of the truthfulness of the remarks.”
The judgment is highlighted that ranaut “Failed to tender any apology to the complainant after knowing the truth,” Reinforcing the magistrate’s decision to proceed with the case.
The judge also dismissed the argument that director of TCIPL (Twitter Communications India Private Limited) Had not sent a report south by the magistrate. The court clarified that Since the magistrate had conducted an inquiry and was satisfied with the preliminary evidence, the abdominal report did not infalaid the summoning order.
The court also rejected the context by Ranaut that retweet was made in “good faith”.
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Ranaut’s Counsel Also argued that the magistrate’s reference to the return as a “tweet” indicated a lack of application of mind. The court dismissed this as a minor error, stating, “Merely because the magistrate is mentioned in the petitioner’s retweet as Tweet in the impugned order, it can be Said this or order.”
Finally, Ranaut’s Counsel Pointd Out That The Complint was Filed Only Against Her and not Against Advocate Yadav, Whose Original Tweet was retweet. The court found this argumental irrelevant, noting that the complainant’s decision to pursue ranut did not Negate the Prime Facie Evidence of Defamation.