Kangana Ranaut moves Bombay high court over passport renewal

Kangana Ranaut has moved the Bombay high court after the Passport Authority of India objected to renewing her passport on the grounds that cases had been filed against the actress for inciting hatred via Twitter.

The complainant is being investigated by the Mumbai police on the directions of a Mumbai court. Ranaut's plea will be heard by a bench comprising justice PB Varale and justice SP Tavade on Tuesday. 

The interim application was filed through advocate Rizwan B Siddiquee last week, claiming that the actress's passport is due to expire on 15 September and that she requires immediate renewal in order to resume shooting for her upcoming film, Dhaakad. The shoot is scheduled to take place between 15 June and 30 August. 

On 18 October 2020, the Bandra police registered an FIR against Ranaut and her sister, Rangoli Chandel, under Indian Penal Code sections 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, race etc) 295 (A) (deliberate acts hurting religious sentiments) and 124-A (sedition). The Bombay high court later granted the sisters interim protection in the case of sedition but did not restrict the probe into the tweets. In February 2021, a metropolitan court in Mumbai asked the Mumbai police to submit a progress report regarding the investigation into the case. 

According to the legal website, LiveLaw.in, Ranaut, in her plea, stated, "There are huge monetary investments made by production houses in booking such shooting locations, wherein the applicant is required to participate as an actress (sic)."

It also read, "The applicant no 1 humble submits and the applicant is one of the topmost actresses of the Hindi film industry and has won several prestigious awards including National awards...that by the virtue of being an actress she needs to travel to different parts of the country, and even international locations for professional commitments."