Kerala Police on Tuesday went back on its decision to slap sedition charges on writer Kamalsy Prana and book activist K P Nadir under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) following criticism from the ruling CPM.

Prana was booked after a BJP worker complained that the writer had insulted the national anthem on Facebook post by quoting from his novel. Nadir, who is accused of distributing pro-Maoist pamphlets in Kannur in March, was on Monday arrested from Kozhikode Medical College, where he had gone to meet Prana.