Remarks on farmers’ protest: Kangana Ranaut’s counsel appears in Agra Court, next hearing on March 18

Counsel for BJP MP and actress Kangana Ranaut submitted a Vakalatnama in the Special Court (MP/MLA) at Agra on Thursday, requesting additional time to file a response in a case related to her remarks on protesting farmers. Her counsel, Anusuya Chaudhary, a Supreme Court advocate from Delhi, represented her in court. The next hearing is scheduled for March 18.

The MP/MLA in Agra has earlier issued three notices to Kangana Ranaut, the BJP MP from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, in connection with a case filed against her. The complaint was lodged by Congress leader and Agra-based lawyer Rama Shankar Sharma.

“The court issued notices on multiple occasions seeking Kangana Ranaut’s response. I filed this case on September 11, 2024, after reading her statement in a newspaper on August 27, 2024, regarding farmers who had staged protests at the Delhi border in 2020 and 2021,” said advocate Rama Shankar Sharma.

“I am the son of a farmer and felt insulted when the actor lodged baseless charges against the farmers staging protest,” said Sharma.

The court has already recorded statements from the complainant and a witness. Notices were previously issued to Ranaut under the new provisions of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which replaced the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Section 223(1) of BNSS mandates that an accused must be allowed to be heard before the court takes cognisance of a complaint.