Mumbai court asks police to inquire into allegedly hateful tweets by Kangana Ranaut, Rangoli Chandel against Muslim community

Metropolitan Magistrate at Andheri, Mumbai has ordered the Andheri Police Station to conduct an investigation against actress Kangana Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chandel for allegedly putting out offensive tweets against Muslims from the Tablighi Jamaat sect..A complaint over the issue is stated to have been filed, pinpointing a video wherein Ranaut is said to have made hateful and derogatory comments against the Muslim community..While noting that the offensive video relied upon in the complaint is not available on record, Magistrate BT Zirape observed that."Allegations are based upon comments of accused on social media platform. The evidence against accused appears to be of electronic nature. Therefore inquiry at the hands of police is necessary for proceeding against accused and to know their roles.".The order was passed in a criminal complaint filed by Mumbai lawyer Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, alleging that the sisters had been spreading communal hatred through their offensive statements and illicit videos..He referred to the tweets by Chandel where she passed offensive and malicious comments against Muslims from the Tablighi Jamaat in connection with their arrests during the COVID-19 pandemic..Deshmukh apprised the Court that after several objections were raised against Chandel’s tweets, her account was suspended by Twitter..He mentioned that Ranaut came out in support of her sister with a video calling the Muslims from Tablighi Jamaat as terrorists..The sisters misused their social media platforms to gain cheap publicity and personal gain, he submitted..Deshmukh filed complaints with the Amboli Police Station in April against the allegedly offensive content put out by the sisters on their respective Twitter handles..He sought for the police to take cognisance against the sisters for having committed offences under Sections 153A, 153B, 195A, 298 and 505 (related to spreading enmity and hatred amongst different religious groups) of the Indian Penal Code..However since no action was being taken against the allegedly serious offences, he approached the Magistrate..Deshmukh has also filed another complaint against Ranaut before the same Magistrate seeking cognisance for allegedly committing offences like sedition and attempting to allege war against the Government..He has also sought consent from the Advocate General for initiating contempt proceedings against Ranaut for terming the judiciary as "Pappu Sena.".This order adds to the legal woes of Ranaut, against whom another judge from the Bandra Magistrate Court has also ordered an investigation..[Read order here].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.