Shaheen Bagh Dadi tweet: Punjab & Haryana High Court issues notice in plea by Kangana Ranaut to quash defamation case

The Punjab & Haryana High Court on Monday issued notice in a plea by Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut seeking quashing of defamation proceedings against her in relation to 'Shaheen Bagh Dadi' tweet put out by her that sparked controversy during the farmer's protests last year [Kangana Ranaut v Mahinder Kaur]..Justice Meenakshi I Mehta sought the response of the complainant Mahinder Kaur and also directed the trial court hearing the defamation case to adjourn the same."Meanwhile, the trial Court shall adjourn the criminal complaint case, as pending before it, beyond the next date of hearing as fixed in the present petition," the Court directed..The dispute arose in January 2021, when Kaur alleged that during the farmers protest against the now repealed Farm Laws, Ranaut had made a defamatory tweet containing false imputations and remarks against her. The tweet compared Kaur to a Dadi (grandmother) at the Shaheen Bagh protests, stating that such protestors could be hired..Based on the tweet, Kaur filed a complaint before the Magistrate Court, Bathinda for initiation of defamation proceedings against Ranaut. The court issued summons to Ranaut on February 22 and ordered her to appear before it on July 19. .Ranaut moved the High Court seeking quashing and setting aside of the proceedings initiated by the Magistrate court on the ground that the trial Court misconstrued the provisions contained in Section 202 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).It was argued that while issuing the summoning order, the magistrate did not consider the twin test as laid down in the case of Subramaniam Swamy v State of Assam..Ranaut contended that she had only retweeted the original text, and the original author was not even added as an accused in the complaint case which reflected the complainant's ulterior motive.Additionally, Ranaut's counsel argued that ingredients for the offence of defamation were not made out, and the re-tweet was not intended to or likely to harm the complainant. Therefore, the trial court had erred in not providing reasons for issuing summons and the order was devoid of judicial application of mind..Advocates Abhinav Sood, Anmol Gupta, Nitesh Jhajhria, Jashan Mehta, Dhrun Chowfla and Abhuwrat Arya appeared for the petitioner while Senior advocate GK Mann represented the Complainant. .[Read Order]