Muzaffarpur Police Orders Closure Of Sedition Case Against Celebrities

Shyam Benegal, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aparna Sen and Mani Ratnam, actors Soumitra Chatterjee, Konkona Sen Sharma and Revathi, classical singer Shubha Mudgal and historian Ramachandra Guha were among the eminent personalities against whom the sedition case was filed.

Adoor Gopalakrishnan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram last week: "It (the letter to the Prime Minister) is not a statement against anyone, or the government. That letter was written when we saw injustice in the country." - Telegraph picture

Muzaffarpur (Bihar): The Bihar Police have ordered closure of a sedition case lodged against close to 50 acclaimed artists and intellectuals who wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year seeking his intervention in the rising incidents of mob lynching and communal violence in the country. Muzaffarpur SSP Manoj Kumar Sinha said order has been issued by him for closure of the case as investigation so far revealed that allegations were levelled against the accused out of "mischief" and "lacked substance", reported news agency PTI. The FIR was lodged at the Sadar police station last week upon the order of the Chief Judicial Magistrate which had forwarded a petition filed by local advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha who had accused the celebrities of tarnishing the country’s image. A case will also be filed against the Muzaffarpur-based advocate for filing a false case, the police said. “I felt the letter was intended to tarnish the image of our country and malign the Prime Minister and his effective style of functioning. It was against humanity,” Ojha, 50, told ABP affiliate The Telegraph las tweek. “As the letter was aimed at increasing disharmony in society and divide our nation, I filed a case. Unfortunately, I could give only nine names. The other 40 writers and five others who supported them in the media have been bracketed as ‘unidentified’ in the FIR.” Ojha said: “The court has asked the police to investigate and submit a chargesheet by November 11.” Shyam Benegal, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aparna Sen and Mani Ratnam, actors Soumitra Chatterjee, Konkona Sen Sharma and Revathi, classical singer Shubha Mudgal and historian Ramachandra Guha were among the eminent personalities against whom the sedition case was filed.