SHIMLA — Himachal Pradesh Police booked Bharatiya Janata Party MP and actor Kangana Ranaut on Friday under three criminal provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita over social media remarks targeting the Gandhi family.
No arrests have been made.
Shimla Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh confirmed the registration of the First Information Report, stating that investigators have initiated a formal inquiry into the online publications. The police acted on a formal complaint filed by Shimla resident Atul Sharma, who submitted an email petition directly to the Himachal Pradesh Director General of Police demanding an immediate cyber-forensic probe.
Ranaut published the contentious remarks from her verified social media account on Tuesday, November 10. The commentary directly addressed the deaths of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, alongside the 1980 death of Sanjay Gandhi.
Sharma’s complaint highlighted that Ranaut’s post referred to senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi as a "mysterious foreign national." The digital statement suggested that successive deaths in the family paved an unhindered path for her to lead the government, capping the assertion with the phrase: "How convenient." Ranaut further asserted in the thread that following Sanjay Gandhi's death, his wife Maneka Gandhi was "thrown out" of the family residence.
Such remarks crossed the boundary of political commentary into criminal conduct, Sharma alleged in his complaint. He argued that the posts circulated unverified claims capable of igniting public hostility, disrupting public peace, and fracturing communal harmony.
| Case Parameter | Official Police Record |
|---|---|
| Accused | Kangana Ranaut, Member of Parliament (BJP) |
| Complainant | Atul Sharma, Shimla resident |
| Charges Invoked | Sections 196, 353, and 356 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) |
| Offence Classifications | Promoting enmity, public mischief statements, criminal defamation |
| Jurisdiction | Shimla District Police, Himachal Pradesh |
Police invoked three distinct sections of India's new criminal penal statute: Section 196 for promoting enmity between different groups, Section 353 for publishing statements conduce to public mischief, and Section 356 for criminal defamation.
The FIR has been registered and further investigation is underway.
Gaurav Singh, Superintendent of Police, Shimla
Police investigators in Shimla are assessing the digital post records alongside cyber-forensic inputs to determine whether formal summons will be issued to the parliamentarian for questioning.