Kangana Ranaut, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and an actor, apologized on Monday before a court at Bathinda over her comments against 73-year-old Mahinder Kaur, which she had made during the 202021 farmers protest. The apology is related to a defamation lawsuit initiated by Kaur, who stated that Ranaut posted derogatory and false remarks about her in social media.
Attending the hearing in person with the high security level, the Mandi MP appeared in front of the press, saying that she had apologized personally to the husband of the complainant. She said she has apologized in court and regretted her post in the social media. Kaur however, did not attend the hearing.
The case of the defamation can be attributed to a controversial X (then Twitter) post, where Ranaut supposedly confused Mahinder Kaur with Shaheen Bagh protester Bilkis Bano and implied that such women might be hired to protest at 100 rupees. The comments elicited a lot of fury when the farmers had many protests against the farm laws which were repealed subsequently.
Ranaut was called to appear before the court in Bathinda in February 2022 by a judicial magistrate. Both the Punjab and Haryana High Court turned down her pleas to suppress the summons and the Supreme Court later did the same, after which she was ordered to appear in person. Her petition to participate in the proceedings through a video conference was also denied last month and Judicial Magistrate First Class Lakhbir Singh scheduled October 27 as the time when she would appear.
Another episode in the row of her scandals based on political and social questions is the court appearance made by Ranaut. In the first half of the year, she was in the news after she was slapped by a CISF constable in the Chandigarh airport because of her remarks regarding the farmers protests.
After her court apology, legal experts believe that the case can now proceed to a settlement or withdrawal depending on the reaction of Kaur.
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