Communist Parties Move Supreme Court Seeking Action Against Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma For Hate Speech

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Annie Raja, a leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI), have approached the Supreme Court seeking action against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over the comments made by him targeting a particular community.Advocate Nizam Pasha mentioned the matter before the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant seeking urgent listing."We seek urgent intervention of this Court with respect to disturbing speeches made by the sitting CM of Assam, including a recent video posted where he is shown as shooting at members of a particular community. Complaints are filed, but no FIRs registered," Pasha submitted.CJI Surya Kant said that as and when elections are nearby, political battles are fought in the Supreme Court too."Problem is, as and when elections come, part of the elections is fought inside the SupremeCourt. That is the problem. We will find out, will give date," CJI said.The CPIM and Annie Raja have filed separate writ petitions seeking the registration of FIRs against the CM for offences related to hate speech and communal polarisation. They also seek the constitution of a Special Investigation Team by the Supreme Court to investigate the matter, contending that the State and Central agencies cannot be expected to carry out an independent and impartial probe.Recently, a video was posted on 'X' by the official handle of BJP Assam showing the Assam CM shooting persons who appear to belong to the Muslim community. After the video attracted severe backlash from social media users, it was deleted. Apart from this video, the petitioners cited previous speeches of Himanta Biswa Sarma.A detailed chronology from 2021 to February 2026 is provided, cataloguing speeches and statements allegedly calling for social, economic, and civic exclusion of Bengali-origin Muslims, including exhortations to deny them livelihoods, transport, land, and voting rights. The petition claims that these statements have had real-world consequences, with reports of economic discrimination, harassment, and exclusion being justified by perpetrators as acting on the Chief Minister's directions.The petition argues that the rhetoric deliberately conflates illegal immigration with Muslim identity, despite immigration being religion-neutral and despite NRC data showing that a majority of those excluded were non-Muslims. This, it is contended, exposes the communal and discriminatory intent underlying the statements.It is contended that the impugned conduct violates the constitutional oath taken by the Chief Minister to uphold the Constitution, sovereignty, integrity, fraternity, and equality. Relying on Supreme Court precedents, the petition asserts that such conduct amounts to misfeasance in public office and a breach of constitutional trust. The speeches are alleged to attract offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (corresponding to IPC provisions on hate speech and incitement), as well as electoral offences under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.Yesterday, another writ petition was filed by twelve persons, flagging the utterances of the Assam CM, including his comments on 'Miya Muslims', 'flood jihad' etc, and seeking directions to prevent divisive comments by persons holding Constitutional posts.Recently, the Islamic clerics' group Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind also flagged CM Sarma's speech and urged the Supreme Court to issue directions to restrain persons holding Constitutional posts from making divisive comments.The CPI(M)'s petition has been filed through its authorised representative, Subhashini Ali.The petitions were filed through Lzafeer Ahmad B F AoR.Case : Communist Party of India (Marxist) v. Union of India Diary No. 8641/2026 and Annie Raja v. Union of India Diary No.8461/2026

Communist Parties Move Supreme Court Seeking Action Against Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma For Hate Speech

Anmol Kaur Bawa

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