NEW DELHI – A trial court in India Friday moved ahead with a criminal case against Microsoft Corp., Google Inc., Facebook Inc., Yahoo! Inc. and some other entities, by issuing summons to the global executives of these companies for allegedly failing to censor objectionable content from their websites.

The criminal case against the firms follows a complaint from journalist Vinay Rai, who alleged offenses such as defamation, obscenity and promoting enmity among different groups on grounds of religion and race against these sites.

Metropolitan Magistrate Jay Thareja, who is hearing the case, issued the summons to the executives through the federal home ministry, asking them to appear in person or through their counsels before the court on Sept. 22.

India's home ministry will pass on the summons to its U.S. counterparts, who in turn will send them to the companies.

India and the U.S.--where the companies are based--are signatories to an international treaty for mutual legal assistance, which requires summons to companies or individuals facing criminal charges to be sent through diplomatic channels.