Kangana Ranaut, sister granted interim protection from arrest in sedition case

The interim protection was granted after Ranaut and her sister filed a petition, seeking to quash the FIR and the October order passed by the magistrate. The petition was heard by a division bench of Justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik. 
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted interim protection from arrest to actor Kangana Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chancel in connection to a sedition case. An FIR had been registered against them under sedition and other charges earlier.
The Bombay HC has directed them to appear before Mumbai Police on January 8. The FIR was regifted after orders passed by the Bandra magistrate’s court. The order directed the police to carry out an inquiry against Ranaut and her sister, following a complaint lodged against them for “trying to create hared and communal tension” through posts on social media.
The interim protection was granted after Ranaut and her sister filed a petition, seeking to quash the FIR and the October order passed by the magistrate. The petition was heard by a division bench of Justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik.
The court, however, reprimanded the sisters for not honouring summons sent to them by cops. They said that the summons must be honoured.
The lawyer representing Kangana Ranaut and Rangoli Chandel, Rizwan Siddiquee, quickly assured the court that the sisters shall appear before the Bandra police in Mumbai on January 8 from 12 pm to 2 pm for recording their statements. The Bombay High Court has accepted the lawyer’s appeal.
“We are of the prima facie opinion that interim protection till the matter is heard at length deserves to be granted. The police shall not take any coercive action including arrest against the applicants (Ranaut and Chandel),” the court said.
The court also inquired why sedition charges had been invoked in the case. “Why is the sedition section invoked? Why are we treating citizens of our country like this?” Justice Shinde said.
The Bombay HC will now take up the plea for the further hearing on January 11. It may be noted that the police had filed an FIR against Ranaut and her sis under IPC sections 153-A, 124-A, and 34.