Muzaffarpur lawyer protests closure of sedition case against 49 celebrities, moves court

PATNA: A day after state police headquarters approved Muzaffarpur SSP’s proposal for closure of

sedition case

lodged against 49 celebrities, including Ramchandra Guha, Shyam Benegal and Aparna Sen, petitioner of complaint case Sudhir Kumar Ojha filed a protest petition in the court on Thursday objecting to the move of the police and also demanding a CBI probe into the matter.


Ojha, a Muzaffarpur-based lawyer known for filing more than 745 complaint cases against noted politicians, Bollywood actors and bureaucrats across the country, filed his protest petition in the court of in-charge chief judicial magistrate (CJM) of Muzaffarpur, Subhash Chandra, on Thursday.

Ojha’s move came after additional director general (headquarters) Jitendra Kumar announced in Patna on Wednesday that

sedition

charges levelled against 49 eminent personalities for writing a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July on lynching would be closed as the complainant failed to prove the charges and didn’t provide evidences to buttress his claim.

Talking to this newspaper from Muzaffarpur over phone, Ojha said, “Apart from protest petition, I have also requested the court to look into the case or forward the same to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). I have no faith in the state police, which is investigating the case. The police may submit the chargesheet in the case claiming it to be false.”

Ojha also objected to the manner in which the police headquarters reacted to the case. “Progress report in any criminal case is not a public document, which can be shared with the media or made public. ADG (headquarters) has violated the confidentiality (secrecy) by sharing details of ongoing investigation,” Ojha said.

ADG (headquarters) Jitendra Kumar had not only agreed to the SSP’s proposal to drop the sedition charges, but also directed the latter to initiate action against Ojha under sections 182 and 211 of IPC for giving wrong information to the court for registering an FIR against 49 eminent personalities.

The ADG could not be contacted for his comment on Ojha’s allegations despite repeated attempts by this newspaper on Thursday.

Earlier, an FIR was lodged against the dignitaries, including actors and historians, with the sadar police station at Muzaffarpur on the directive of the court. Ojha had urged the court to issue summons to the accused booked under different IPC sections related to sedition, public nuisance, hurting religious feelings and insulting with intent to provoke breach of peace.