Kangana Ranaut Moves Bombay High Court To Quash Mumbai Police FIR Over Khalistani Remarks On Farmer's Protest
Actor Kangana Ranaut has approached the Bombay High Court to quash Mumbai police's FIR over her 'derogatory' Instagram posts about the Sikh community and Khalistani movement after the Prime Minister's announcement to repeal farm laws. On November 23, the Khar Police booked Kangana under section 295A IPC relating to outraging of religious feelings based on a complaint by members of...
Actor Kangana Ranaut has approached the Bombay High Court to quash Mumbai police's FIR over her 'derogatory' Instagram posts about the Sikh community and Khalistani movement after the Prime Minister's announcement to repeal farm laws.
On November 23, the Khar Police booked Kangana under section 295A IPC relating to outraging of religious feelings based on a complaint by members of the Sikh community.
The complainants alleged that in her Instagram post, Ranaut drew parallels between protesting farmers and Khalistanis. She claimed that Khalistani's were "arm-twisting" the government and pointed out that the former prime minister Indira Gandhi had crushed them like mosquitoes.
The complaint said that Ranaut has labelled all farmers as Khalistani terrorists, and by bringing in 1984 riots she has hurt the religious sentiments of the community. Hence the FIR.
Ranaut's petition under section 482 of the CrPC states that the FIR is registered to "maliciously prosecute" her for exercising her "fundamental right" of freedom of speech.
The petition states that the offences are not made out against her and that she had merely exercised her fundamental rights to condemn the banned terror outfit.
Moreover, the police have failed to apply their mind while registering the FIR, she said.
The complainants came across the post on Kangana's Instagram profile written in English and Hindi.
Earlier, Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa, President of Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, led a delegation to meet Maharashtra's Home Minister, Dilip Walse Patil and demanded that a case should be registered against the actor for her remarks as she had "intentionally" and "deliberately" portrayed the farmers protest as a "Khalistani movement".
The parliament repealed the farm laws last month.
The three contentious farm laws -Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; (2) Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020; and (3)Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 - enacted by the Parliament in September 2020.
They were stoutly opposed by several farmers organizations. Several farmers groups across the nation have been holding widespread protests and agitations for over a year since the passing of these laws demanding that they be scrapped.
The farmers groups announced the end of their protest in the wake of the repeal of the farm laws and other assurances given by the Union Government.