Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has approached the Bombay High Court seeking quashing of the FIR registered by Mumbai Police for putting objectionable posts on a social media platform allegedly likening the Sikh community to Khalistanis.Ranaut has been booked under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs. The FIR was registered based on the complaint filed by Amarjit Singh Sandhu, Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Jaspal Singh Siddhu, who were part of committees of various Gurudwaras in Mumbai and Delhi.
Ranaut sought quashing of the FIR on the grounds that the police officials of Khar Police Station had miserably failed to apply their minds while registering the FIR.She stated that the FIR is “nothing but an act to maliciously prosecute Ranaut for exercising her fundamental right to freedom of speech” and that the FIR would inadvertently create a “chilling effect” on the right to freedom of speech.She further stated that the mens rea for committing the said offence, which is essential and of the utmost importance, is absent in the present case. The petition is likely to be heard by the high court next week. This is the third time that Ranaut has approached the high court to quash an FIR. Earlier she had approached for quashing the FIR in Bandra and another in Khar itself.