‘Citizens have right to freedom of speech, not hate speech’: Criminal complaint filed against Kangana Ranaut

Adding to the legal woes faced by Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut for her controversial tweets, a criminal complaint has now been filed before the Metropolitan Magistrate in Andheri, Mumbai, legal news website BarandBench.com has reported.

The complainant, advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, has asked the court to take cognizance and issue process against Ranaut for allegedly committing offences under Sections 121, 121A (attempting to wage war against the government), 124 (sedition), 153A, 153B, 195A, 298 and 505 (related to spreading enmity and hatred amongst different religious groups) of the Indian Penal Code.

The complaint states, "It is pertinent to note that every Indian citizen has got the right to freedom of speech and not the freedom of ‘hate’ speech."

Deshmukh has alleged in his complaint that Ranaut had been putting up comments against the Government of Maharashtra and executive machineries like the ministers and Mumbai Police on her Twitter handle.

He added that Ranaut has time and again put up statements on her Twitter handle with “malafide intentions and ulterior motives of creating an atmosphere of hatred in the country amongst different religious groups”.

He further notes, "Ranaut is committing criminal contempt of court by terming the judiciary as ‘Pappu Sena’."

Deshmukh approached the court after the Andheri police station refused to take cognizance of his grievances. He had previously filed another complaint in July against Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chandel for “maliciously spreading and promoting enmity amongst different groups on the ground of religion”.

An order will be passed in this matter on October 29.

A similar complaint was filed before the Metropolitan Magistrate in Bandra, where the Court ordered the concerned police to register a complaint against the sisters.