Bathinda, Jan. 7 -- A special court in Bathinda has directed BJP MP from Mandi and actor Kangana Ranaut to appear in person on January 15 at the next hearing of a defamation case filed against her. In an order passed on Monday, judicial magistrate first class (JMIC) Inderjeet Singh said that an application seeking exemption from her personal appearance has been dismissed. The court released a copy of the order on Tuesday, taking a serious view of Ranaut's absence from the proceedings without citing a valid reason. The defamation case was filed in 2021 by Mahinder Kaur, a septuagenarian resident of Bahadurgarh Jandian village in Bathinda district. Kaur alleged that Ranaut defamed her in a post on social media platform X by wrongly identifying her as Shaheen Bagh protester Bilkis Bano and suggesting that such women could be hired to protest for Rs.100. In an application submitted before the court on Monday, Kaur had submitted that Ranaut's plea was the fourth consecutive request seeking exemption from personal appearance and was intended to delay the proceedings. While hearing the matter, the court observed that Ranaut had earlier sought exemption citing her participation in the winter session of Parliament. "However, the present application (filed on January 5) is based on an entirely different plea, namely her visit to Mumbai for official and pre-scheduled commitments. No document, schedule, or material was annexed with the application to substantiate the said plea," read the order passed by the special court designated to hear cases against MPs and MLAs. It further noted that in the absence of any cogent or verifiable material justifying the accused's inability to appear, sufficient cause for granting exemption had not been made out. "The affidavit filed in support of the application also does not disclose any particulars of such commitments. Repeated exemption applications on shifting grounds, without supporting material, cannot be permitted as a matter of routine," the order read. The court further added that the privilege of exemption from personal appearance is a discretionary relief and must be exercised sparingly, particularly when the accused is facing criminal proceedings....