Actor Kangana Ranaut will not face arrest till January 25 over her social media post that allegedly linked farmers' protests to a separatist group, the Mumbai police told the Bombay High Court today.
The police made the statement after the High Court bench said the issue involved the larger question of Ms Ranaut's fundamental right to free speech and that the court will have to grant her some ad-interim relief.
Ms Ranaut approached the High Court earlier this month, seeking that the FIR registered against her in November this year be quashed.
In her plea, Ms Ranaut said while the complainants took objection to her Instagram post made on November 21, there was no legal case made out against her.
A Sikh organisation had filed a complaint at Khar police station in Mumbai claiming that Ms Ranaut, through her Instagram post, had portrayed the farmers' protest on Delhi borders as a Khalistani movement.
The police then booked Ms Ranaut on charges of deliberately hurting the community's religious sentiments under the Indian Penal Code.
On Monday, Ms Ranaut's counsel told the High Court that to invoke the charges, an accused must have made the offensive comment with the deliberate and malicious intent of hurting a particular person or a community's religious sentiments. However, in the present case, the actor had no such intention, advocate Rizwan Sidiquee, who appeared for the actor, said.
The bench went through Ms Ranaut's social media post in question and agreed with her counsel's submission.
"Where is the deliberate and malicious intent here? Section 295 says that should be the sole and dominant object," the bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Sarang Kotwal said to the prosecution.
The bench then asked the police if they intended to arrest Ms Ranaut in the case.
Chief Public Prosecutor Aruna Pai, who appeared for the police, said the Khar police had issued a notice to Ms Ranaut, asking her to appear before them for questioning, but the actor hadn't responded to it yet.
"We have issued a notice to her (Ranaut) under Section 41A of the CrPC on December 1, but she hasn't responded. She isn't cooperating," Mr Pai said.
A notice under Section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) is issued to an accused in cases where immediate arrest is not necessary, but the accused's presence is required at police station for questioning.
Ms Ranaut's counsel told the High Court that she was willing to appear before the police, but apprehended her arrest in the case.
The High Court then told the prosecution that the Khar police will require to make a categorical statement on whether they intended to arrest Ranaut or not.
Ms Ranaut's counsel said the actor will appear before the Khar police on December 22.
Mr Pai then made a statement on behalf of the investigating officer in the case that the "police will not arrest her (Ranaut) until the next date of hearing in the HC."
The court accepted the police's statement and posted the matter for further hearing on January 25, 2022.
The High Court also granted time to the complainants till the next hearing to file a reply to Ms Ranaut's plea.
With inputs from PTI
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