Defamation case: Bathinda court directs BJP MP Kangana Ranaut to appear in person on January 15
PTC News Desk: A Bathinda court has rejected BJP MP Kangana Ranaut's plea seeking exemption from physical appearance in an ongoing defamation case filed against her by an elderly farmer.
The Special MP-MLA court ordered Kangana Ranaut to appear in person on January 15, unless she receives a specific court order excusing her. The court also said it would hear arguments that same day on her request for a permanent exemption from appearing in person. The defamation case was filed in January 2021 by Mahinder Kaur from Bahadurgarh Jandian village in Bathinda. The case is based on comments Ranaut posted on social media during the 2020–21 farmers’ protest.
Ranaut did not come to court on Monday, saying she had official and pre-planned work in Mumbai. The complainant’s lawyer opposed her repeated requests for exemption, claiming she was intentionally avoiding the hearings and asked the court to issue non-bailable warrants. Prosecutors argued that this was the fourth hearing in a row where she sought exemption, even though the Parliament’s winter session had already ended.
“Earlier, her lawyer said she couldn’t attend because Parliament was in session. Now the session is over, so continuing to seek exemption is an abuse of the law,” prosecution lawyer Raghbir Singh Behniwal told the court.
Mahinder Kaur filed the complaint under IPC sections 499 and 500, accusing Ranaut of defamation after she shared the complainant’s photo on social media during the farmers’ protest and made comments that Kaur said damaged her reputation.
- PTC NEWS
