New Delhi: The Gauhati High Court on Thursday issued notice to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in connection with multiple PILs accusing him of making “hate speeches”.A division bench of Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury heard the three petitions. Notices were also issued to the Assam government and the Inspector General of Police.
The court has scheduled the next hearing on April 21.“The defendants have until the next date to reply to the notice. The court did not issue any other order,” advocate Santanu Borthakur, assisting one of the petitioners’ counsel, told PTI.The petitioners included the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (M), which filed separate petitions, and a joint petition by Sahitya Akademi awardee Hiren Gohain, former DGP Harekrishna Deka and senior journalist Paresh Malakar.Gohain, Deka and Malakar filed petitions on February 24, while CPI and CPI(M) filed separate petitions on February 21 on the same issue.Earlier, the Supreme Court on February 16 refused to entertain a petition to take action against Sarma on a similar issue.The petitioners claimed that Sarma’s remarks could “divisive society” and amounted to “blatant hate speech” against Assam’s minority communities. They claim he directed party members to file complaints against Bangladeshi Muslims, known pejoratively as “Miyas”, in order to harass them.The PIL said Sarma has been inciting social and economic boycotts, spreading harmful stereotypes and encouraging civilians to take law and order into their own hands. It also accuses him of using his position to harass minority communities and foment communal disharmony.The petitioners demanded a complete stop to such hate speech, investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a retired High Court judge and appropriate action against Sarma. They noted that despite publicly recorded speeches indicating incitement, no FIR was registered, creating an atmosphere of impunity.
