Fresh Supreme Court plea targets Assam CM over hate speech claims

New Delhi, Feb 11: Four prominent Assamese individuals have moved the Supreme Court seeking urgent intervention against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over a series of alleged hate speeches targeting a minority community in the state.

According to legal news portal LiveLaw, the petition has been filed by retired professor and public intellectual Dr Hiren Gohain, former Director General of Police Harekrishna Deka, Editor-in-Chief of Northeast Now Paresh Chandra Malakar and senior advocate Santanu Borthakur.

In the writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, the petitioners alleged that the Chief Minister has repeatedly made statements inciting discrimination, social and economic boycott, and violence against Bengali-origin Muslims in Assam.

Mentioning the matter before Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, advocate Rupali Samuel sought urgent listing of the plea. The Chief Justice agreed to list it along with an earlier petition raising similar allegations.

The petition alleges that through public speeches, press interactions and social media posts, Sarma has promoted enmity on grounds of religion, language, place of birth and residence.

It claims that terms such as “miya” and “Bangladeshi” were used as derogatory slurs against Bengali-origin Muslims and that the Chief Minister called for a “social and economic boycott” of the community.

The plea further cites remarks allegedly advocating “non-cooperation” and “civil disobedience”, including denial of land, vehicles and livelihood opportunities to the targeted group.

A day earlier, petitions filed by the CPI(M) and the CPI seeking registration of an FIR and a court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe against Sarma were also mentioned before the apex court.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N.V. Anjaria, while hearing the mentions on Tuesday, observed that political disputes, especially during elections, often spill into the courts, reported another web portal for legal news, Bar and Bench.

“My lord, there is a plea against hate speech by a member of a political party. There is a video also now by the Chief Minister taking a shot at the minorities,” advocate Nizam Pasha submitted.

The petitions filed by CPI(M) and Communist leader Annie Raja object to a public speech delivered by Sarma on January 27 and to a now-deleted video allegedly showing him discharging a firearm towards an animated image of two visibly Muslim men.

According to the plea, the material “reinforces and amplifies a climate of hostility, exclusion and intimidation” against the minority community.

Responding, the Chief Justice remarked, “The problem is when elections come, political battles are often fought here in the Supreme Court. We will see.”

The controversy traces back to January 25 and 27, 2026, when the Chief Minister, while commenting on the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam, allegedly made statements suggesting selective service of notices and asserted that “Miya votes” should be curtailed.

The petitions also refer to a statement attributed to Sarma in which he allegedly urged people to “give trouble” to the community and create conditions that would make it difficult for them to continue living in Assam.

In another instance, the plea points to a video posted on February 7 on the BJP Assam unit’s social media handle, allegedly showing Sarma holding a gun and using the words “point blank shoot” in a context said to target persons dressed in attire associated with the minority community.