Actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut on Monday appeared before a Bathinda court in connection with a defamation case filed against her by 73-year-old farmer Mahinder Kaur. Dressed in a saree and sporting sunglasses, the BJP MP from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, arrived at the court complex around 2 pm amid tight security, where she told reporters that there had been a “misunderstanding” regarding her 2021 tweet.
“Whatever misunderstanding happened with the family of Mahinder ji, I gave a message to mata ji through her husband about how she was the victim of a misunderstanding,” Ranaut said. “Never in my dreams could I imagine this… Every mata, be she from Punjab or Himachal, is respectable to me.”
The court had earlier rejected her plea to appear via video conference, directing her to attend the hearing in person.
The case dates back to January 2021, when Mahinder Kaur, a farmer from Bahadurgarh Jandian village in Punjab’s Bathinda district, filed a complaint alleging that Ranaut had defamed her by misidentifying her as Bilkis Bano — the elderly activist who gained prominence during the Shaheen Bagh protest. Ranaut’s tweet, posted amid the 2020–21 farmers’ agitation against the now-repealed farm laws, included a comment likening Kaur to the Shaheen Bagh protester, which the complainant said was “false and defamatory.”
In her defence, Ranaut maintained that she never targeted any individual. “There was a retweet which was used as a meme. I have also spoken to the husband of Mahinder ji. There were many women in that meme, and no comments were made against any person,” she said, adding that she regretted the misunderstanding that followed.
However, Mahinder Kaur remains steadfast in her resolve to pursue the case. The octogenarian, who could not appear in court due to ill health, spoke from her modest home near the village bus stop. “She (Kangana) has never met me. I will not forgive her. She is a big actress and political leader, while I am a small farmer. Yet she has made me come to the court at this age,” she said softly but firmly. “She should realise how much her visit costs the state and the trouble caused to the public. She says her remark was misinterpreted, but it’s not true.”
Her husband, Labh Singh, represented her in court on Monday. The elderly couple lives with their son, Gurdas, in an unplastered house surrounded by farmland. The family owns about 13 acres of land and keeps a few milch animals for sustenance. Despite her frail health, Mahinder still handles most of the household chores — her daughter-in-law passed away last year, and her son, Gurdas, suffers from a serious ailment that confines him to limited mobility.
“My mother has worked all her life in the fields,” said Gurdas, who uses a urine bag due to his illness. “Now she has turned weak, but my father and I help her as much as we can.”
Standing beside his wife, Labh Singh added quietly, “Ladayi ta ladni pendi hai — the fight has to be fought. She (Kangana) has sought an apology in court, but only God knows what will happen now. God has given us courage, otherwise we are nothing.”
For this family of humble farmers, the case is not about celebrity or politics. It is about dignity — a stand against what they believe was an insult to their name and life’s work.
