The sedition case that was booked against 49 celebrities who wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing concern over the rising incidence of communal violence in the country has been closed by the Bihar police. According to NDTV, the district police chief said that the case was "maliciously false".
Multiple reports state that the Bihar police will now file a complaint against Sudhir Kumar Ojha, the complainant in the sedition case under relevant sections of the IPC.
"The SSP recommenced closure of the case and action against the complainant for filing a false case without any rhyme or reason," ADG Jitendra Kumar told NDTV.
The direction to close the case was issued to the Sadar police station, where the complainant had lodged a complaint.
“The investigating officer in the case will file the final report at the local court within a day or two, and on the basis of his report action will be taken against the petitioner under relevant sections of the IPC,” Muzaffarpur Senior Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Sinha told the Hindu.
Stating a lack of evidence to back his claim, ADG Jitendra Kumar told PTI: “On this and other circumstantial basis, the case is found to be false and order has been issued by him to investigating officer to submit Final Report- False. Along with this, finding this to be an intentional purpose of complainant, prosecution under sections 182 and 211 (of the IPC) will be submitted against complainant for lodging a false case.”
After filing the complaint, Sudhir had told PTI that the artists who had signed the letter were tarnishing the image of the country and supported “secessionist tendencies".
The letter’s signatories included Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Mani Ratnam, Anurag Kashyap, Aparna Sen, actor and filmmaker Revathy Asha, historian and writer Ramchandra Guha, filmmaker and actor Konkona Sensharma and actor Kani Kusruti. It noted concerns over increasing identity-based hate crimes and lynchings of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities in India. The letter had stated that “Jai Shri Ram” had become a provocative war cry, and had appealed to Prime Minister Modi to stop the use of Ram in this manner.
The case of sedition against the letter's 49 signatories triggered widespread outrage, and was widely condemned by writers and personalities from art and cinema.