Plea For FIR Against Kangana Ranaut's Tweets Allegedly Derogatory and Defamatory To Sikh Community :Delhi Court Seeks Report From Delhi Police

A Delhi Court on Wednesday sought action taken report (ATR) from the Delhi Police in a case filed by Manjinder Singh Sirsa, President Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee against Actress Kanagana Ranaut for her alleged "derogatory and defamatory hate tweets" on Farmers Protests thereby defaming the Sikh Community and committing acts prejudicial to national integrity.

Metropolitan Magistrate Amardeep Kaur while directing the Delhi Police to file the ATR, further listed the matter to be heard on 24th April 2021.

About the Complaint

Manjinder Singh Sirsa had filed a complaint dated 7th December 2020 at the North Avenue Police Station, New Delhi under sec. 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups), 153B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration), 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 505(1)(b) (Statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.

The complaint alleges that Kangana Ranaut, having an ulterior motive of defaming the Sikh Community, had made a series of tweets on the protesting farmers thereby maligning the image of the Sikh Community as a whole.

Series of Tweets

The tweet in question dated 5th December 2020 reads as follows "Can Shaheen Bagh's Biryani gang and Khalistani terrorists tell what their problem is about the bill. Even at the time of the CAA it was said on behalf of the government that no one would lose citizenship, yet they rioted and killed hundreds of people."

Another tweet dated 29th November 2020, questioned by the complainant, reads "Ha haha she is the same dadi who featured in Time Magazine for being the most powerful Indian. And she is available in 100 rupees. Pakistani jurno's have hijacked international PR for India in an embarrassing way. We need our people to speak for us internationally."

Other tweet dated 2nd February 2021 reads "No one is talking about it because they are not farmers they are terrorists who are trying to divide India, so that China can take over our vulnerable broken nation and make it a Chinese colony much like USA. Sit down you fool, we are not selling our nations like you dummies."

According to the complainant, it has been submitted that this "extremely derogatory tweet" seeks to promote communal disharmony by labelling the hard working farmers, currently agitating peacefully on a large scale, as "Khalistani terrorists" thereby hurting the sentiments of thousands of farmers across the country.

"That in this manner, the Respondent No. 2 by publishing the said tweets has attempted to misuse the huge social media following for oblique motives and vested interest for political mileage by defaming the peaceful protest and agitation by the farmers thereby causing an atmosphere of communal disharmony. That such an act is meant to create a divide in the society and is a clear example of "Hate Speech/Tweet" that needs to be addressed and explained before the fake, derogatory and imaginary tweet/ retweet on social media which may further cause prejudice to the farmers in their peaceful agitation and protest as ordained under the constitutional rights." The plea reads.