Bathinda: The defamation case against Bollywood actress and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut resumed in a Bathinda court on Monday, 10 days after the Punjab and Haryana high court dismissed her petition.
The trial court has adjourned the matter to Oct 4 for further orders.The proceedings were stayed for over three years while Ranaut’s petition was pending before the high court. The petition, which challenged summons issued by the Bathinda court on Feb 22 and April 19, 2022, was dismissed on Aug 1 by a bench led by Justice Tribhuvan Dahia.The defamation case was filed by Mahinder Kaur, an elderly woman farmer from Bahadurgarh Jandian village, following a 2020 social media post by Ranaut.
In a retweet, the actress allegedly misidentified Mahinder Kaur as Bilkis Bano of Shaheen Bagh and claimed that such women were available for Rs 100 in protests. Kaur, a farm activist, was participating in protests against the now-scrapped farm laws at the Delhi borders.Her husband, Labh Singh, appeared on her behalf during Monday’s hearing. Kaur’s counsel, Raghbir Singh Behniwal, informed the court that the high court’s order had not placed a stay on the trial’s continuation.Ranaut’s lawyers, however, told the court they intend to challenge the high court’s decision in the Supreme Court.
