Karnataka HC declines an urgent hearing of Ranveer Singh's plea in the Kantara Daiva mimicry case

Karnataka HC declines an urgent hearing of Ranveer Singh's plea in the Kantara Daiva mimicry case

• Ranveer Singh seeks to quash FIR over Daiva mimicry at IFFI 2025
• His lawyers argue the act was meant as appreciation, not offence
• Karnataka High Court to hear the petition on the following day

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Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh has moved the Karnataka High Court seeking to quash a criminal case registered against him over his mimicry of the Daiva — a sacred spirit deity — from the hit film Kantara: Chapter 1. The petition was filed on February 23, 2026, before a bench led by Justice M. Nagaprasanna in Bengaluru, with Singh’s legal team arguing that his actions were meant as a genuine appreciation of the performance, not an offence.

The case stems from an incident during the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2025 in Goa, where Singh — while praising Rishab Shetty’s performance — reenacted a Daiva sequence from Kantara. Some social media users and critics said his imitation and comments were insensitive and disrespectful to the Daiva tradition, a culturally sacred practice for communities in coastal Karnataka.

An FIR was later registered in Bengaluru under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including those related to harming religious sentiments.

In his petition, Ranveer Singh’s lawyers stressed that his mimicry and remarks were intended to honour the original performance and not to offend cultural traditions.

They argued that his statement had been misinterpreted as criminal behaviour and sought the court’s intervention to quash the case.

The defence also noted that the actor had already received two official notices from the police concerning the matter, which they said was placing undue pressure on him amid the ongoing legal dispute.

During the brief hearing, Ranveer’s counsel requested an urgent, same-day listing, citing stress on the actor due to continued media attention and legal notices.

However, the court declined to expedite the hearing, Justice Nagaprasanna asked whether an enquiry should be fast-tracked simply because the petitioner is a well-known Bollywood actor or whether the court would be expected to move even faster for a Hollywood actor.

Also read: Ranveer Singh visits Salman Khan's father Salim Khan at Lilavati Hospital amid health scare

The hearing on the petition has been scheduled for the following day, with observers expecting the Karnataka High Court to consider the legal grounds for quashing the FIR. This development has drawn widespread attention due to the interplay between cultural sensitivity, freedom of expression, and the legal accountability of public figures.