Kangana Ranaut’s lawyer fails to submit a response in the court; next hearing scheduled on April 16

On Wednesday, the MP/MLA Special Court conducted a hearing in the sedition and defamation case against Bollywood actress and BJP MP from Mandi, Kangana Ranaut. She has been accused of allegedly insulting farmers by Advocate Ramashankar Sharma (plaintiff) from Agra, who filed a case against her on September 11, 2024.
According to an ABP news report, in the last hearing, Kangana Ranaut's attorney appeared in court and asked for additional time to file documents related to the case. The court approved this request and allowed time for a response to be submitted. However, in today’s hearing, Kangana Ranaut’s lawyer was absent, and no response was filed.
As stated by the plaintiff's lawyer, the next hearing is set for April 16, 2025.
In his complaint, the plaintiff alleged that Kangana made derogatory remarks against farmers. The accusations state Kangana called the farmers murderers and rapists. The complaint also accused her of insulting Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of non-violence and disrespecting freedom fighters by claiming that India’s independence was achieved through Gandhi’s "begging bowl."
The statements of senior advocate Ramashankar Sharma (plaintiff), witness Rajendra Gupta Dheeraj Advocate, and Ajay Sagar Nimesh Advocate were recorded in the last hearing.
Following statements from the plaintiff’s lawyer and witnesses, the court issued notices, which were sent to Kangana Ranaut and were sent to her addresses in Kullu-Manali and Delhi on three separate occasions. According to the notices, Kanagan was asked to personally appear in the court or send her lawyer as a representative to clarify her stand in the matter.
Reportedly, despite the notices, Kangana Ranaut did not appear before the court.