A Mumbai court on Thursday (29 October) ordered an inquiry against Kangana Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chandel for allegedly posting derogatory tweets against Muslims, as per a report by Live Law.
Metropolitan Magistrate Bhagawat T Zirape said that the inquiry will be a deciding factor in determining the role of the accused. The court has also asked the police to submit a report by 5 December.
The order came after Ali Kashif Khan Deshmukh approached the court claiming that the Amboli police station did not take any action on a complaint filed by him against the sisters.
In the complaint Deshmukh alleged that Rangoli Chandel had posted objectionable comments against members of Tablighi Jamaat on her social media account on 15 April. Following this, her account was suspended by Twitter.
Deshmukh had also alleged that Kangana Ranaut supported her sister. He also claimed that the actor had posted a short video on 18 April on social media platforms, calling Jamaatis terrorists. “Thus, both the accused posted hateful and derogatory statements against [the] Muslim community,” the complaint said.
It added that the sisters misused social media to gain “cheap publicity and personal gain”, adding that they spread hatred against the Muslim community.
The court noted that the video wasn't available on record. "Allegations are based on what the accused posted on social media handles. The evidence appears to be electronic in nature. Thus police inquiry is necessary to proceed against the proposed accused", the court said.
On 22 October, the advocate had filed another complaint before the Andheri Magistrate Court, accusing Ranaut of sedition and trying to cause disharmony between two religious groups through her tweets. The Mumbai Police had summoned the Kangana and Rangoli on 26-27 October in connection with the case, but they sought time to appear and record their statements.
(With inputs from Live Law)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)