The Gauhati High Court has issued notice to Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma over multiple petitions alleging repeated hate speeches against the Muslim community, with the Division Bench seeking responses from him, the Centre, and the Assam government.
The Gauhati High Court issued a notice to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma regarding a series of petitions calling for action against him due to his alleged repeated hate speeches targeting the Muslim community.
A Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury, engaged in a thorough discussion on the matter before requesting responses from Sarma, as well as the Central and Assam governments.
At one point, the Court remarked that the speeches cited by petitioners exhibited a “fissiparous tendency.”
The Court stated,
“Notice issued to respondents (accepted for R1 Union of India and R2 for State by counsel in State).. Let notice be issued to Respondent 3 (CM Sarma),”
The next hearing for the case is scheduled for April.
The Court was examining multiple petitions aimed at holding Sarma accountable for his repeated hate speeches, which have particularly targeted the Muslim community in Assam. During a public address on January 27, Sarma stated that “four to five lakh Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls, claiming that “Hemant Biswa Sarma and the BJP are directly against Miyas.”
The term “Miya” is often used derogatorily to refer to Muslims.
Earlier, On February 7, a video shared by the BJP’s Assam unit depicted CM Sarma shooting at an animated representation of two Muslim men positioned in the crosshairs, followed by their image being shown as struck by several gunshots.
Accompanying text included phrases such as “Point blank shot” and “No Mercy.”
In response to this, various groups, including the Congress party, Assamese scholar Hiren Gohain, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], petitioned the High Court.
The Supreme Court previously declined to intervene, directing the petitioners to approach the High Court first.
During the proceedings, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, along with CU Singh and Meenakshi Arora, represented the petitioners. Singhvi highlighted the need for notice in the case and requested suitable interim protection.
Singhvi remarked,
“It is sad to say but a constitutional authority in the state has acted repetitively, habitually, consistently and continuously by using words of a vituperative campaign of hate,”
He urged the Court to consider the consistent nature of Sarma’s actions, accusing him of violating his oath of office.
He submitted,
“Every known canon of Article 14, 15, the words of the Preamble, secularism and fraternity, and specific five provisions of the statute. Let me place that about the consistency of pattern,”
In reference to the controversial video, Singhvi argued that the imagery was “reprehensible and inexcusable by anyone,” particularly for someone in a position of authority.
He noted that although the video was removed after four days, it had already garnered over one million views, stating,
“Four days later it is taken down after over 1 million views.”
Singhvi also cited Sarma’s inflammatory comments, such as, “my job is to make them suffer,” and called attention to a woman who refused to pay a rickshaw puller the full fare due to the Chief Minister’s remarks.
He remarked that the Supreme Court has established that when hate speech is made by a responsible individual, there is an expectation for police to act suo motu, without waiting for a complaint.
Singhvi said,
“It is exceedingly distressing that milords the head of the State, who has such great responsibility to serve all the citizens, should pick and choose between the citizens,”
Senior Counsel Meenakshi Arora emphasized the ongoing pattern in Sarma’s rhetoric against a specific community.
She explained,
“This is not something that is happening only in the middle of elections. There is a pattern, a consistency here.”
Arora recounted Sarma’s assertions connecting community members to rising vegetable prices and expressed concern over his remarks about academic institutions.
She added,
“It is just very, very distressing to use demeaning language, to denigrate people,”
Overall, the proceedings underscored the significant legal and societal implications surrounding CM Sarma’s statements and their impact on communal harmony in Assam.
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