Karnataka HC refuses to stay proceedings against Kangana for tweet on farmers

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Mar 02, 2021:       The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday refused to stay the proceedings against Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut, over a controversial tweet regarding the farmers’ protests. The actor had sought to quash an FIR filed against her by the Bengaluru police. Hearing the case on Tuesday, a bench headed by Justice HP Sandesh said that the court can consider the submissions of Ranaut’s counsel after they comply with the office objections. The bench also gave Ranaut a week’s time to comply with these objections and posted the case for hearing on March 18, reported Bar and Bench.

 

On September 21, 2020, a complaint was filed by Advocate Ramesh Naik with the Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Court over Ranaut’s controversial tweet. Following this, the court directed the Bengaluru police to file an FIR against the actor regarding the same, on October 9. Her tweet read, "People who spread misinformation and rumours about CAA that caused riots are the same people who are now spreading misinformation about Farmers bill and causing terror in the nation, they are terrorists.”

The FIR was registered in Tumakuru district under charges of giving provocation with intent to cause riots, vilification or attacks upon the religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc of any particular group, and intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC).

This is not the first time that the actor has made controversial statements on social media. Soon after American singer Rihanna took to social media to ask why “nobody was talking” about the farmers’ protests in Delhi in January, Kangana responded, “No one is talking about it because they are not farmers they are terrorists who are trying to divide India, so that China can take over our vulnerable broken nation and make it a Chinese colony much like USA…”

Following this, Harshvardhan Patil, an advocate in Karnataka’s Belagavi district registered a complaint against Ranaut on charges of criminal intimidation and "internationally insulting" farming communities.