MANDI, Nov 12: In a significant development, an Agra district court today cleared the way for legal proceedings against Bollywood actress and BJP MP from Mandi, Kangana Ranaut, over her alleged remarks describing protesting farmers as “terrorists” and “rioters”.
The court accepted a revision petition filed against the earlier dismissal of a sedition complaint and directed that the matter be heard afresh by the lower court.
The case, filed by advocate Ramashankar Sharma, president of the Agra Bar Association, accused Kangana of making statements that insulted the farming community and amounted to sedition.
Sharma alleged that her comments during a media interview not only hurt the sentiments of millions of farmers but also attempted to incite hatred and undermine national unity.
The case was heard in the court of Special MP-MLA Judge Lokesh Kumar, who, after reserving his order on November 10, pronounced it on Wednesday, accepting the revision plea. The judge observed that the complaint required reconsideration and directed that the case proceed before the same lower court which had earlier dismissed it.
Despite being issued six summons, Kangana Ranaut has not yet appeared in court. During the recent hearings, she was represented by Supreme Court advocate Anusuya Chaudhary, along with lawyers Sudha Pradhan and Vivek Sharma. The complainant’s side was represented by senior advocates Sukhbir Singh Chauhan, Rajveer Singh, B.S. Faujdar, Durge Vijay Singh, Surendra Lakhan, and Umesh Joshi.
The controversy began with Kangana’s interview to a Hindi vernacular on August 24, 2024, where she allegedly stated.
“If our top leadership hadn’t been strong, Punjab could have become another Bangladesh during the farmers’ protest. Rioters were spreading violence in the name of farmers. Rapes and murders were taking place there. The farmers’ bill was withdrawn, otherwise these rioters would have suffered greatly.”
Advocate Sharma said these remarks amounted to calling farmers “terrorists” and “criminals,” which gravely insulted those who participated in the year-long farmers’ protest. He stated, “I come from a family of farmers and have worked on farms for 30 years. Kangana’s words have deeply hurt our sentiments and those of crores of farmers across the country.”
Following the remarks, Sharma lodged a written complaint with the Police Commissioner and the New Agra Police Station on August 31, 2024, seeking action. However, when no FIR (first information report) was registered, he moved the Special MP-MLA court on September 11, 2024, demanding that a sedition case under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code be filed against her.
The petition also cites Kangana’s earlier statement from November 7, 2021, in which she allegedly said that India attained “real independence” in 2014 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government came to power, while describing the 1947 freedom as “begged for.”
Her comment “The independence we got in 1947 came from Mahatma Gandhi’s begging bowl” – sparked widespread outrage for allegedly disrespecting Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, and other freedom fighters.
Sharma argued that such remarks “belittle the sacrifices of the nation’s heroes” and “spread divisive ideas”, which, combined with her statements on farmers, justify the invocation of sedition charges.
With the revision petition now being accepted, the case will return to the lower court for trial. The court will decide whether to formally register charges of sedition, defamation, and promoting enmity against Kangana Ranaut.
Legal observers say the decision marks a serious turn in the long-standing controversy surrounding the Mandi MP’s remarks, as it opens the door for criminal proceedings against a sitting Member of Parliament.
)UNI)
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