An FIR (First Information Report) was lodged in Bihar's Muzaffarpur on Thursday against nearly 50 celebrities, including Ramachandra Guha, Mani Ratnam and Aparna Sen, who had written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising concern over the growing incidents of mob killing, police said.
The case was lodged after an order was passed by Chief Judicial Magistrate Surya Kant Tiwari two months ago on a petition filed by local advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha.
"The CJM had passed the order on August 20, accepting my petition upon the receipt of which an FIR was lodged today (Thursday) at the Sadar police station," Mr Ojha said.
He said nearly 50 signatories of the letter were named as accused in his petition in which they allegedly "tarnished the image of the country and undermined the impressive performance of the Prime Minister" besides "supporting secessionist tendencies".
The police said the FIR was lodged under sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those relating to sedition, public nuisance, hurting religious feelings and insulting with an intent to provoke breach of peace.
The letter was written by 49 eminent personalities, including filmmakers Mani Ratnam, Anurag Kashyap, Shyam Benegal, actor Soumitra Chatterjee as well as vocalist Shubha Mudgal in July this year.
It had said that the mob killing of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities must be stopped immediately, while stressing that there was "no democracy without dissent".
It also noted that "Jai Shri Ram" had been reduced to a "provocative war cry".
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Court Cancels Case Against Teacher For Slapping Child For Failing To Recite ABCD From Muzaffarpur To UK Parliament: Bihar Town Celebrates Local Boy's Success Indian-Origin Man In UK Allegedly Incited Communities In Manipur, Case Filed Mamata Banerjee's Sunday Ultimatum To CBI For Death Penalty In Rape-Murder How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan "Prove With Pics Crime Scene Intact": Court To Bengal Over Hospital Vandalism Egyptian Ship Arrested At Paradip Port In Odisha For Outstanding Debt Will Back Any Candidate Announced As Chief Minister Face: Uddhav Thackeray Trump, Musk, And The Importance Of 'Exaggeration' In Storytelling Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.