An advocate has moved the Mumbai Sessions Court to reopen the case against actor Kangna Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chandel after the dismissal of his complaint alleging the siblings had posted hateful statements against the Muslim community, Live Law reported.
Owing to lack of sanction to prosecute the actor and her sister under section 153 (deliberately provoking with the intention to cause riots) of the Indian Penal Code, a magistrate court in Mumbai had dismissed the private complaint in July this year.
Opposing this, advocate Ali Kashif Khan Deshmukh mentioned in his revision plea that the case cannot be dismissed over non-availability of sanction order, as per Times of India. He has also simultaneously approached the collector for the issuance of sanction. The plea will be heard again next week.
The complaint against Ranaut and Chandel was filed citing offences punishable under sections 153A, 153-B, 295-A, 298, 505 r/w 34 of the IPC, which deal with promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, assertions prejudicial to national integration, intentions to outrage and wound religious feelings, and statements conducing to public mischief.
In his complaint, the advocate had submitted that on April 15, 2020, Ranaut’s sister had posted a defamatory statement against the Muslim community on Twitter, which the actor had supported. The plea further mentioned that Ranaut had also posted a video on social media platforms on April 18, 2020, in which she labelled the Muslim community as “terrorists.”
Referring to the Tablighi Jamaat incident in Delhi during the first wave of Covid-19, Chandel had tweeted inflammatory statements about the community, even going so far as to call for people to “shoot them dead.” Her Twitter account was subsequently suspended.
Meanwhile, Ranaut, who has also been faced with the numerous complaints for her tweets and comments on social media, had another complaint filed against her by fitness instructor and casting director Munnawarali Sayyed in October 2020.
Recommended
Sayyed filed the complaint with the Bandra Police in Mumbai against Ranaut and her sister for allegedly trying to incite communal violence between Hindus and Muslims through their tweets and interviews.
Other complaints registered against the actor include a couple of FIRs registered in Karnataka for her tweets calling the protesting farmers “terrorists,” two complaints registered in West Bengal for her tweets on the aftermath of the Legislative Assembly elections in the state, and a defamation case filed by lyricist Javed Akhtar.
Ranaut’s tweets are unavailable at the moment as Twitter permanently suspended her account for violating its Hateful Conduct policy and Abusive Behaviour policy.