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The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain actor and Member of Parliament Kangana Ranaut’s petition seeking dismissal of a defamation case related to her controversial tweet about a woman participating in the 2021 farmers’ protests. The Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta remarked that the tweet was not a simple retweet but an added commentary, and its interpretation should be left for the trial court to decide.

Ranaut had alleged in a post that an elderly woman protester, Mahinder Kaur, was paid to participate in the agitation, including derogatory remarks tying the protester with international propaganda efforts. Her counsel argued that the remarks referred to a different protester and that Ranaut issued a clarification ignored in the proceedings, but the Court was unconvinced.

Highlighting the importance of not prejudicing ongoing proceedings, the Court refused to comment on the tweet’s content or admissibility and suggested that issues such as dismissal of the complaint for lack of evidence should be dealt with at trial. When offered, the Court gave Ranaut the option to withdraw her plea, which her counsel declined.

The defamation complaint alleges that Ranaut’s tweet falsely impugned the integrity of the woman protester by implying fraudulent media representation for monetary gain and included derogatory comparisons. The Bathinda court had issued summons against Ranaut under Sections 499 and 500 of the IPC, which was upheld by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in August 2025 before the matter reached the Supreme Court.

This decision reinforces the principle that alleged defamatory speech on public forums must be adjudicated through full trial processes rather than summary quashing of complaints, especially where context and intent remain contested.