FIR against 50 prominent Indians for letter to PM

A case has been filed against nearly 50 prominent Indians in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, including scholar Ramachandra Guha and filmmakers Mani Ratnam and Aparna Sen over their open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising concern over the growing incidents of mob killing in India.
The case was filed after a petition was lodged by a local lawyer.

The CJM had passed the order on August 20, accepting my petition upon the receipt of which an FIR was lodged. – Sudhir Kumar Ojha, Lawyer

Nearly 50 signatories of the letter have been named as accused in Ojha’s petition as they allegedly “tarnished the image of the country and undermined the impressive performance of the Prime Minister” besides “supporting secessionist tendencies”.

The FIR has been 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 Anurag Kashyap, Shyam Benegal and vocalist Shubha Mudgal in July 2019.

The letter said that the mob killing of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities must be stopped immediately, and emphasises that there was “no democracy without dissent”. It also said that Jai Shri Ram had become a “provocative war cry”.

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