The court also directed that notices be served to the Central and Assam governments also; the matter has been posted for hearing in April.
NEW DELHI — The Gauhati High Court on Thursday issued notice to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on a batch of petitions seeking action against him for repeated hate speeches against the Muslim community.
Pertinently, the court, at one point, remarked that the speeches of Sarma cited by the petitioners did show a “fissiparous tendency.”
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury heard preliminary arguments and directed that notices be served to Sarma, as well as to the Central and Assam governments. The matter has been posted for hearing in April.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had declined to entertain petitions seeking action against the chief minister over a now-deleted viral video purportedly showing him firing a rifle at targets allegedly representing members of the Muslim community. The apex court had asked the petitioners to first approach the jurisdictional high court.
Senior Advocate CU Singh, appearing for some of the petitioners, alleged that Sarma had made targeted remarks against “Miya” Muslims in Assam. He referred to statements in which the chief minister allegedly spoke about restricting the voting rights of the community and indicated plans to revise voter lists.
During the hearing, the high court observed that the statements cited by the petitioners appeared to suggest a possible “fissiparous tendency.” However, the court clarified that it would consider all submissions and materials on record before arriving at any conclusion.
The petitions cite multiple instances, including a January 27 speech in which Sarma allegedly claimed that several lakh “Miya” voters would be removed from electoral rolls. They also refer to a February 7 video circulated by the BJP’s Assam unit that allegedly showed the chief minister aiming at animated images representing Muslim men, accompanied by phrases such as “Point blank shot” and “No mercy.”
According to the petitions, the chief minister also publicly acknowledged encouraging party workers to file complaints against “Miyas,” stating that such actions were intended to “trouble” them and convey that “Assamese people are still living.”
The petitions before the high court have been filed by the Congress party, Assamese scholar Hiren Gohain, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and others, following the Supreme Court’s direction to seek relief before the state high court.
