Kangana Ranaut has now filed a notice against Delhi Gurudwara Committee accusing them of criminal intimidation. The actor has sought an apology from the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee for intimidating her with a legal notice. The Gurudwara body had sent Kangana a legal notice earlier last month for her tweets that allegedly targeted farmers, activists protesting against the new farm laws.
Manjinder Singh Sirsa, the President of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, took to Twitter to share the notice sent to the body by actor Kangana Ranaut. Sirsa, however, has maintained that Kangana will be the one who would apologise to them and that the matter will be fought in the court.
Details of her reply to our notice @ANI @TimesNow @htTweets @ABPNews @PTI_News @republic @ZeePunjabHH pic.twitter.com/PjNMEiyusH
— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) January 5, 2021
In her notice, Kangana has alleged that the legal notice sent by Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Committee is “untenable and bad in law” as they have failed in establishing how they are personally falling under the ‘aggrieved party’ through which they are trying to invoke Section 499(Defamation) and Section 500(Punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code 1860 and should be further read with Section 199(Prosecution for defamation) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Committee has no locus standi to bring action against Kangana Ranaut: Notice
The legal notice by Kangana has drawn on the past verdicts given by High Courts to allege that Delhi Sikhs Gurudwara has no locus standi to bring a defamation suit against her. She has contended in her notice that Section 199 of CrPC permits only the ‘aggrieved party’ to move the Court in case of defamation.
The notice further claims that under the current statutes and the provisions of the Civil Law, the Gurudwara body has no rights to proceed against the defendant as no action on her part directly or indirectly defames them.
“A third-party whose rights have in no way been prejudiced by the already deleted tweet of my client has absolutely no locus standi to even proceed before any court of law,” the notice sent by Kangana’s counsel on her behalf said.
Consequently, the notice mentions that Delhi Sikhs Gurudwara Committee is liable to be tried under Section 503 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code for criminal intimidation.
Tender apology and withdraw demands or face civil and criminal proceedings: Kangana to Gurudwara Committee
Kangana Ranaut’s legal counsel has mentioned that the legal notice is sent to gain publicity and a few minutes of fame by taking undue advantage of his client’s reputation and social standing. The legal notice has asked the Gurudwara Committee to immediately withdraw their demands and tender an apology to Kangana Ranaut, failing which civil and criminal proceedings may be initiated against them.
Earlier last month, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee sent a defamation notice to actor Kangana Ranaut, alleging that the actor defamed the farmers, protestors and activists involved in the ‘farmer protests’ against the Modi government. In its notice, the Sikh organisation has demanded an unconditional apology and unequivocal withdrawal of the ‘defamatory and derogatory’ tweet.
