Kangana Ranaut Granted Bail in Defamation Case Over Farmers’ Protest Tweet: “Never Imagined This Controversy”

Ziya Khan October 28, 2025Last Updated: October 28, 2025

Actor and politician Kangana Ranaut was granted bail on Monday by a Bathinda court in Punjab in connection with a defamation case filed by farmer protestor Mahinder Kaur. The case dates back to 2021, when Kaur accused Ranaut of defaming her through a social media post during the farmers’ protest.

Arriving at the court around 2 p.m., dressed in a saree and sunglasses, Ranaut expressed regret over the “misunderstanding” caused by her post but maintained she had not made any direct remarks against any individual.“Whatever misunderstanding happened with the family of Mahinder ji, I gave a message to her husband for mata ji about how she was the victim of a misunderstanding,” Ranaut said after the hearing.

“Never in my dreams could I imagine this controversy. Every mata, be she from Punjab or Himachal, is respectable to me,” she added. When asked if she believed she had made an unintentional mistake, Ranaut clarified that the issue was misinterpreted. “There was a retweet that was used as a meme. There were many women in that meme, and no comments were made against any individual,” she explained, adding she had already spoken to Mahinder Kaur’s husband about the matter.

Ranaut reiterated that she “regretted the misunderstanding” but emphasized her intentions were never to insult or misidentify anyone.Mahinder Kaur’s counsel, Raghubir Singh Beniwal, confirmed the court granted bail on a bond furnished by Ranaut’s father. Ranaut also moved a plea seeking permanent exemption from personal appearances, which Beniwal opposed.

The court asked Ranaut if she wished to say anything; she expressed a desire to apologise to the complainant, stating her post was not intended to target anyone. The court then sought the response of Mahinder Kaur’s husband, Labh Singh, who said he would consult family members before deciding on the apology. The matter is listed for a hearing on November 24.The complaint, filed in January 2021, alleged Ranaut wrongly identified Mahinder Kaur as Bilkis Bano—the elderly activist known for the 2020 Shaheen Bagh protests.

Kaur claimed the actor’s “false imputations and remarks” compared her to the “dadi” from Shaheen Bagh, despite her active role in the farmers’ protest from the start. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court observed that Ranaut’s post “was not a simple retweet” and that she had “added spice” to the content. Following this, Ranaut withdrew her plea before the apex court.