The Supreme Court has dismissed actress and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut’s plea to quash a criminal defamation case, stating that her controversial tweet was not a simple retweet but included her own “spicy” remarks. The ruling means the case will now proceed to trial in Punjab.
September 12, 2025: On Friday, the Supreme Court of India turned down a request from actress and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut to drop a criminal defamation lawsuit against her for a tweet she sent during the 2021 farmers’ protests that caused a lot of controversy.
Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard the case. Justice Mehta made a critical comment on Ranaut’s tweet about an older woman who was protesting. “It wasn’t just a simple re-tweet. You have added your own thoughts. “You have added spice,” Justice Mehta observed, making it clear that the court thought Ranaut’s comments went beyond just sharing a post.
Ranaut’s tweet on a protester named Mahinder Kaur, in which he wrongly identified her as Bilkis Dadi of Shaheen Bagh fame, is what started the uproar. She also said that the woman was “available for 100 rupees,” which made it sound like the demonstrators were getting paid to be there. Later, Mahinder Kaur sued the actress for criminal defamation.
During the court, Ranaut’s lawyer said that she had already explained what she said and that she was worried about her safety if she went to Punjab, where the trial is planned. The bench, on the other hand, wasn’t satisfied. Justice Mehta said that the trial court should think about these kinds of clarifications. The court also told Ranaut that if she really had problems, she might ask to not have to attend in person. The petition was dropped after the bench’s comments.
Ranaut has already had legal problems in this instance before. A magistrate in Punjab had already established enough evidence to support a slander case and issued a summons. The Punjab and Haryana High Court also turned down her earlier bid to have the case thrown out. At that point, the court said that her assertions of good faith and lack of intent could not outweigh the seriousness of the allegations. The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear her appeal means that the matter will now go to trial in Punjab.