New Delhi – The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused too hear actor Kangana Ranaut‘s plea seeking to quash a defamation complaint filed against her over a tweet concerning farmers’ protests. The case stems from a 2021 tweet where Ranaut allegedly made disparaging remarks about farmers protesting agricultural reforms.
Ranaut had previously approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking to quash the summoning order, but that plea was dismissed. She argued the retweet was made in good faith and, lacking mens rea, she was entitled to the benefit of the 9th and 10th Exceptions to Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). She also contended the Magistrate’s failure to examine these exceptions rendered the order unsustainable.
The High Court rejected this argument, stating that while a Magistrate isn’t barred from considering the applicability of the Exceptions, their non-consideration doesn’t automatically invalidate the summoning order. The Court also noted that the complainant filing the case only against Ranaut, and not the original tweeter, wasn’t evidence of malice. Moreover,the lack of a report from Twitter Communications India Private Limited (TCIPL) confirming the retweet wasn’t grounds to strip the Magistrate of jurisdiction under Section 202 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). TCIPL had explained it was not the owner or in control of Twitter and functioned solely in research,growth,and marketing.
The case is titled KANGANA RANAUT versus MAHINDER KAUR, SLP(Crl) No. 13756/2025.
