Himachal Pradesh Police have registered a case against the BJP MP on a Shimla resident’s complaint that her posts carried “inflammatory insinuations”; the investigation has begun.

Himachal Pradesh Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against BJP MP Kangana Ranaut in Shimla over social media posts about the Gandhi family. The case was registered on Friday, November 13, at the Baluganj police station, on the basis of a complaint by retired Captain Atul Sharma, a resident of Shimla. Ranaut has not been reported to have responded publicly to the FIR.

What the Complaint Alleges

According to the complaint, Ranaut published a series of posts from her verified X account on November 10. Sharma described the posts as containing “highly inflammatory insinuations” about the deaths of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her sons, Sanjay Gandhi and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Sharma also objected to references to Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who was allegedly described in the posts as a “mysterious foreign national”. He contended that the posts suggested that she had entered the family before its members were killed one after another, and that this paved the way for her to take charge of the government. The complaint also cited a claim in the posts that Maneka Gandhi was abruptly thrown out of the family residence after Sanjay Gandhi’s death. Sharma said the posts contained misleading information and went beyond political criticism, calling them a calculated attempt to circulate inflammatory narratives that could disturb public peace.

These are the complainant’s allegations as recorded in the complaint. They are not findings by the police or a court.

Sections Invoked

The FIR has been registered under Sections 196(1)(b), 353(2) and 356(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), according to reports. Broadly, these provisions deal with promoting enmity between groups, statements that cause public mischief, and defamation.

Shimla Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh said the case was registered on Sharma’s complaint and that an investigation will follow. Police are examining digital evidence related to the posts.

The Background

The posts were made on November 10, the day Sonia Gandhi’s memoir was released. Earlier in the week, Ranaut had also questioned the timing of Sonia Gandhi acquiring Indian citizenship, pointing to her marriage and her decision to become an Indian citizen in 1983, and made a series of accusations against her. The reports reviewed do not say whether the posts were linked to the memoir.

Ranaut, a film actor, is the BJP MP from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. She has faced police complaints over her social media posts before. In 2021, the Indian Youth Congress and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa filed separate complaints over her Instagram posts.

What an FIR Means

An FIR records that police have received information about an alleged offence and have begun an investigation. It does not establish guilt. The next steps usually include examining the posts, recording statements, and a decision by the police on whether to file a charge sheet or close the case. Whether the posts amount to an offence under the sections invoked, or are protected political speech, would be a matter for the investigation and, if the case proceeds, for a court.

What to Watch Next

The key developments will be whether Ranaut or the BJP respond, whether the police call her for questioning, whether she seeks to challenge the FIR in court, and how the Congress reacts. No statements from those quarters had been reported at the time of writing.
 

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