The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday dismissed BJP MP Kangana Ranaut’s plea to quash a defamation complaint and a summoning order issued by a Bathinda court. The case, filed by 73-year-old Mahinder Kaur from Bathinda’s Bahadurgarh Jandian village in 2021, stems from Ranaut’s retweet during the 2020-21 farmers’ protests, where she allegedly misidentified Kaur as Bilkis Bano, the ‘Shaheen Bagh dadi,’ and linked her to the farmers’ agitation.

Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya, in the order, noted that Ranaut’s “false and defamatory” tweet damaged Kaur’s reputation, justifying the complaint. The court found that the Bathinda Magistrate had carefully reviewed evidence before issuing the summoning order on February 22, 2022, under Sections 499/500 of the Indian Penal Code. “The complaint cannot be termed mala fide,” the judge stated, rejecting Ranaut’s petition filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The ruling marks a setback for the actor-turned-politician, who argued the defamation case was baseless. The court’s decision reinforces the legal consequences of public statements, particularly for high-profile figures like Ranaut, as the case proceeds in the lower court.

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