The Government of Assam on Tuesday assured the Gauhati High Court of filing its reply by the next hearing in connection with a bunch of PILs filed against the Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, for giving "hate speech". The petitioners alleged that remarks made by Sarma could divide society. The matter has been listed for May 28.
"It has been submitted on behalf of the state that the response affidavit shall positively be filed by the next date, with a copy served in advance to the counsel for the petitioners in the respective writ petitions. List all these matters on 28.05.2026," the court said.
Three PILs —
The three separate PILs has accused Sarma of giving "hate speech" were taken up by the division bench on February 26, observing that there was a "fissiparous tendency", issued notice to the CM, the Centre, the state government, and the Director General of Police in the matter. The hearing was conducted before the announcement of the Assembly elections schedule for the state, with the polling held on April 9 and counting of votes to be done on May 4.
Who filed the PILs?
One petition was filed by Sahitya Akademi awardee litterateur Hiren Gohain, former DGP Harekrishna Deka, and senior journalist Paresh Malakar on February 24. The CPI and CPI(M) had also filed separate petitions on February 21 over the matter.
The CPI(M) had made the BJP also a respondent in its petition, but the High Court had declined to issue notice to the party at the current stage. The Supreme Court had, on February 16, refused to entertain petitions seeking action against the CM over a now-deleted controversial video on X, purportedly showing him taking aim and firing with a rifle at members of a particular community.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi asked the HC chief justice to expedite the hearing in the matter.
"The Respondent No 3 (Sarma), while addressing reporters openly admitted to having directed members of his political party to deliberately file complaints against Bengali-origin Muslims, referred to by him pejoratively as 'Miyas', with the express object of causing them harassment and hardship," alleged the petition filed by the three prominent citizens.
The PIL demands a Special Investigation Team (SIT) enquiry, chaired by a retired high court judge, against the CM and appropriate action.
The PIL also alleged that Sarma is making speeches and releasing videos that are overtly inciting violence against the minority community by instigating civilians to take law and order into their own hands. It added that CM has indulged in "blatant hate speech" against the minority community by calling for their social and economic boycott and using derogatory words to describe them, and propagating harmful stereotypes about them.
It also alleged that the CM has been "instigating violence and hatred with references to the community's dress and language, instigating communal disharmony, and directing his officials to use their public office in a malicious manner to harass the minority community".
"In the present case, despite widely disseminated and publicly recorded speeches that prima facie disclose incitement to discrimination, social and economic boycott of a minority community, no suo motu FIR has been registered by the state authorities," it claimed.
The PIL demands a Special Investigation Team (SIT) enquiry, chaired by a retired high court judge, against the CM and appropriate action.
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