The Supreme Court will hear a batch of petitions against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday, February 16, seeking directions to file a first information report (FIR) against him and the constitution of a Special Investigation Team to probe the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader’s instances of hate speech against Muslims.
The petitions will be heard by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, LiveLaw reported.
Recently, the Assam BJP’s X handle had posted a video where the CM was seen taking aim with a rifle and firing a shot at two people, one wearing a skull cap and the other with a beard, with “point-blank shot” as the caption.
The AI-generated video was uploaded on the state BJP’s official X handle on Saturday, February 7, before being deleted due to political backlash.
According to LiveLaw, petitions have been filed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and a leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Annie Raja, over the social media video and previous other speeches.
They have also asked for an SIT to be formed to probe these incidents, claiming that the state or central agencies cannot be trusted.
Four Assamese individuals also filed a petition seeking the apex court’s intervention over a series of hate speeches against the Muslim community in Assam. They claimed that Sarma has called for the social and economic boycott of the community and used “derogatory slurs like ‘miya’ and ‘Bangladeshi'” against Bengali-speaking Muslims.
The petitioners include a retired professor and public intellectual. Dr Hiren Gohain, former Director General of Police of Assam Harekrishna Deka, Editor-in-Chief of Northeast Now Paresh Chandra Malakar and senior advocate Santanu Borthakur.
On January 27, Sarma openly acknowledged encouraging party workers to file complaints against “miyas,” saying the actions were meant to “trouble” them and send a message that “Assamese people are still living.”
“Whoever can give trouble in any way should give, including you. In a rickshaw, if the fare is Rs 5, give them Rs 4. Only if they face troubles will they leave Assam… These are not issues. Himanta Biswa Sarma and the BJP are directly against Miyas,” he had said.
Just three days after his comments, a video had surfaced where a young woman was seen handing over Rs 4 instead of Rs 20 to a rickshaw puller, saying that she was acting according to the advice of her “brother.”
Another writ petition has also been filed by 12 people seeking court directives that prevent divisive comments by persons holding constitutional posts.
Earlier this month, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind had also moved the Supreme Court against Sarma’s remarks, terming them “communal, deeply divisive and contrary to the spirit of the Constitution.”
Hyderabad MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi had also lodged a complaint with the Hyderabad Commissioner of Police VC Sajjanar on February 9, demanding criminal action against Sarma over the “point blank” video.
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