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Kangana Ranaut sedition case: Bombay HC extends protection from arrest till Jan 25
In October last year, Ranaut and her sister were booked for allegedly promoting enmity between communities through their remarks.
Bombay High Court on Monday extended the protection of Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chandel till January 25 in connection with a first information report (FIR) registered against them for sedition and other charges by Mumbai Police. The high court also directed the city police not to summon them for questioning till then.
In October last year, Ranaut and her sister were booked for allegedly promoting enmity between communities through their remarks. Bandra Police had booked them under Indian Penal Code's (IPC's) sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race), 295-A (deliberate acts hurting religious sentiments) and 124-A (sedition) and 34 (common intention).
The first information report (FIR) was registered following orders from a magistrates court in Bandra after Munawwar Ali Sayyad, a casting director and fitness trainer, filed a complaint referring to tweets and other statements of Ranaut and her sister.
In his complaint to the court, Sayyed had alleged that Ranaut has, through her tweets and television interviews, continuously defamed Hindi film industry by portraying Bollywood as a hub of nepotism, favouritism, drug addicts, communally biased and murderers etc.
Sayyed had alleged that this has “even created a bad image of Bollywood in the minds of people and created a communal divide and rift between people of two communities.” His complaint added that Ranaut has been “maliciously bringing religion in all her tweets”.
The casting director also alleged that Ranaut’s sister Chandel, who also works as her manager, had also tweeted highly objectionable messages, intended to create a communal rift.
The court adjourned the matter till January 25.
