Bathinda, Sept. 30 -- A Bathinda court on Monday dismissed a petition moved by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian and film actor Kangana Ranaut to appear through video conference in a 2021 defamation case.

Upon hearing the matter, judicial magistrate first class Lakhbir Singh directed Kangana to appear before the court in person on the next date, October 27.

The defamation complaint against the MP was filed by 73-year-old Mahinder Kaur of Bahadurgarh Jandian village in Bathinda, alleging that Kangana defamed her in a post on social media platform X by wrongly identifying her as a Shaheen Bagh protester Bilkis Bano and suggesting that such women could be hired to protest for Rs.100.

Complainant's counsel RS Behniwal on Monday ...