Big B in trouble over his jurm hai kam ad

New Delhi: Legal hassles are refusing to get out of Amitabh Bachchan's way ever since the change of guard in Lucknow.

Even as the case over the allotment of agricultural land to the Bollywood megastar is still waiting to be settled, a petition was filed before the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court on Tuesday against Big B's TV advertisements during the UP Assembly election, in which he had claimed that crime rate in the state was much less compared to the other states.

Big B had quoted figures from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in the advertisements.

The petition, filed by Braj Bhushan Dubey of Ghazipur district, wants Bachchan to clarify the basis of his claim that UP mein hai dum, kyonki jurm yaha hai kam (low crime rate is UP's strength).''

Dubey had first moved a Right To Information (RTI) application with the Central Information Commissioner, Justice (Retd) MA Khan, asking for the basis of Bachchan's claim.

The CIC issued a notice to Big B on the basis of this petition, asking him to reply by October 15 on his claims that the crime situation in UP was better than other states

The commission also directed that the notice be sent by registered post to the actor, who was also the former member of the dissolved UP Development Council (UPDC), which was headed by senior Samajwadi Party leader and MP Amar Singh.

But without waiting for Bachchan's response, Dubey has now moved a petition in the high court in which he prayed that if Bachchan moved the HC challenging the CIC order, the former be given information to put up his contention on the date of hearing.

The Big B had played the lead in a series of TV campaigns on the crime situation in UP during the previous Mulayam Singh Yadav Government.

Dubey's original application had been sent to the commission on March 30 during the state Assembly poll, but it was registered with the CIC only on June 14. The High Court would hear the case on November 13.