Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court on Thursday issued a notice to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in response to multiple petitions seeking action against him for alleged hate speeches targeting the Muslim community.
A Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury, heard arguments and directed notices to be served to Sarma as well as the Central and Assam governments. The next hearing is scheduled for April.
Senior Advocate CU Singh, representing some petitioners, alleged that Sarma has engaged in targeted statements against Miya Muslims in Assam. Singh pointed to remarks where Sarma reportedly suggested restricting voting rights for this group and referenced plans to manipulate voter lists.
The court observed that the statements cited by petitioners appeared to show a potential “fissiparous tendency”, though the bench said it would examine all submissions before drawing conclusions.
The petitions stemmed from multiple incidents, including a January 27 speech in which Sarma allegedly claimed that several lakh Miya voters would be removed from electoral rolls. On February 7, a video circulated by the BJP’s Assam unit reportedly depicted Sarma aiming at animated images representing Muslim men, accompanied by phrases such as “Point blank shot” and “No Mercy.”
The Congress party, Assamese scholar Hiren Gohain, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and others filed petitions in the High Court after the Supreme Court directed them to approach the state court first.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued that Sarma’s repeated statements reflected a habitual pattern of incitement and were inconsistent with his duties as the head of the state. He highlighted that even after the controversial video was removed, it had already reached over a million viewers.
Singhvi and Singh also referred to statements allegedly made by Sarma linking disasters or electoral outcomes to members of the Muslim community, arguing these comments could fuel unrest.
Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora also represented the petitioners, stressing that the Chief Minister’s statements appeared to follow a consistent pattern against a specific community. Arora pointed out instances where Sarma reportedly discouraged students from attending institutions founded by people from minority communities, linking such choices to floods or other issues in the state.
The petitioners argued that such remarks violate constitutional principles, including the secular mandate and equality provisions enshrined in the preamble, and could threaten law and order.
The High Court has now formally issued notices to Sarma and the concerned government authorities, and the matter will be considered further in the coming months.