Punjab & Haryana High Court Rejects Kangana Ranaut's Plea in Defamation Case

Actress Kangana Ranaut, known for her outspoken views, faced a setback in a defamation case filed against her. The Punjab & Haryana High Court dismissed her plea to have the case thrown out, citing that her actions had dented the reputation of the plaintiff, Mahinder Kau. The court observed that Kangana's retweet of a false and defamatory imputation against Kau had lowered her reputation in the eyes of others. This ruling has significant implications for public figures who engage in online discourse. Kangana had shared a picture of Kau, mistakenly identifying her as Bilkis Bano of Shaheen Bagh fame, suggesting that such women could be hired to protest for a fee.

Key Takeaways:

• The Punjab & Haryana High Court rejected Kangana Ranaut's plea to dismiss a defamation case filed against her by Mahinder Kau.
• The court observed that Kangana's retweet of false and defamatory imputations had dented the plaintiff's reputation and lowered her in the estimation of others.
• Kangana's tweet wrongly identified Mahinder Kau as Bilkis Bano of Shaheen Bagh and suggested she could be hired to protest for Rs. 100.
• A Bathinda judicial magistrate issued summons to Kangana in February 2022, asking her to appear before the court, leading her to petition the Punjab & Haryana HC.
• Kangana's plea was dismissed, and she will now face trial before the local court in Punjab.

Statistics:

• The defamation case was filed by Mahinder Kau (73) of Bahadurgarh Jandian village in Bathinda district.
• Kangana Ranaut's tweet was shared in [year], where she retweeted a picture of Mahinder Kau with the comment.
• The tweet was deleted before the summons were issued against Kangana in [year].
• Kangana will face trial before the local court in Punjab as a result of the court's decision.

Sources:

• The Times of India
• The Punjab & Haryana High Court's order
• Indian National Press (Bombay) Pvt. Ltd.
• Contify.com