The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a petition by actor and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kangana Ranaut seeking to quash a defamation case filed against her in Punjab in connection with a social media post about a woman who participated in the 2021 farmers’ protests, Bar and Bench reported.

During the protest against the now-repealed farm laws, Ranaut had misidentified a woman farmer and claimed that she was Bilkis Bano, a woman who was at the forefront of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The complaint before a Bathinda court alleged that Ranaut’s remarks implied the farmer was fraudulently presented in the media for money.

In February 2022, a magistrate issued summons to her. Challenging this, she moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which dismissed her plea in August and held that a prima facie case of defamation had been made out, Bar and Bench reported.

Ranaut had then approached the Supreme Court seeking to quash the proceedings.

On Friday, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta asked Ranaut’s counsel: “What do you say about your comments? You added spice. It was not a simple retweet.”

When the counsel argued that Ranaut had issued a clarification for her remarks, Justice Mehta said that such submissions could be made before the trial court.

The bench also suggested that Ranaut could seek an exemption from personal appearance if she was afraid of travelling to Punjab.

Following this, Ranaut withdrew her plea. The matter before the Bathinda court will continue.