The Karnataka High Court has refused to hear the petition filed by Ranveer Singh regarding the Kantara Daiva case. According to a report in India Today, the court found that the actor cannot be given preferential treatment due to his celebrity status and rejected his request for urgent listing. The hearing of the case has now been fixed on February 24.
Karnataka High Court refuses urgent hearing in Ranveer Singh-Kantara Daiva case
Ranveer Singh had moved the High Court on Tuesday seeking quashing of criminal proceedings initiated against him following a complaint accusing him of hurting religious sentiments. The complaint pertains to an incident at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa last year, where Singh was present on stage with Kannada actor-filmmaker Rishabh Shetty.
Singh praised Shetty’s performance during the program Kantara: Chapter 1. However, despite Shetty’s obvious hesitation, Singh reportedly copied some of the expressions associated with Panjurli/Guliga Daiva’s portrayal from the film. The complainant has alleged that this imitation is a derogatory depiction of the sacred Daiva tradition.
The private complaint was filed by lawyer Prashant Methal before the first Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) court. Acting on the court’s direction, the case was referred to the High Grounds police, who later filed a first information report (FIR) against Singh. The FIR has invoked provisions of the Indian Justice Code including sections 196, 299 and 302, which relate to promoting enmity, intentional acts intended to outrage religious feelings and intentional remarks intended to outrage religious feelings.
The complainant further alleged that Singh referred to Chavundi Daiva as a “lady ghost” and argued that, given his global influence, the actor should have known that such comments could offend devotees.
Singh’s legal counsel had mentioned the matter before a bench led by Justice M Nagaprasanna, requested for its expeditious consideration and informed the court that the police had already issued two notices to the actor. The petition has also sought interim relief in the form of a stay on all further proceedings in the case.
Following the controversy, Ranveer Singh issued a public apology saying that he did not intend to hurt anyone’s sentiments and that he would avoid such comments in future. The High Court is now going to hear this matter on February 24.
