Mumbai: Actor and former Censor Board chairman Anupam Kher today (Oct 19, 2004) initiated criminal proceedings in a magistrate's court against CPM (Communist Party Marxist) general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet for allegedly describing him an "RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) man".

The complaint was filed in the court of Magistrate C B Havelikar by Kher, who personally appeared along with his lawyer Majeed Memon.

The court adjourned the matter to November 17 for verification of the complaint. Kher, who was unceremoniously removed from the post of chairman of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), dragged Surjeet to court for writing a defamatory article in CPM journal 'People's Democracy'.

Kher alleged that in the impugned article that he was dubbed as an "RSS man" responsible for saffronising process to suit Sangh's ideology.

Kher has charged Surjeet with sections 499 and 500 IPC which deal with defamation and publishing defamatory matter respectively.

Kher had earlier sent a legal notice to Surjeet asking him to publicly deny the statement within 48 hours or face legal action. As the CPM leader did not respond, the actor moved the court with a criminal complaint.

At a press conference in Delhi on October 14, Kher had squarely blamed Surjeet for his unceremonious removal as the Chairman of CBFC.