Himanta Biswa Sarma is unlikely to face prosecution for his statements because the Gauhati High Court delayed the lower court judgement on March 11
Digital Desk: On March 5, a Guwahati court ordered the Assam police to file a first information report against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for suspected "hate mongering" and "inflammatory speeches."
The complaint was filed against him on December 29 by Congress member of Parliament Abdul Khaleque in response to Sarma's statements following evictions in Sipajhar in Assam's Darrang district last September. The violent evictions, which targeted Bengali-origin Muslims largely, killed two people, including a 12-year-old kid. They were a "act of revenge" for the 1983 murders of Assamese youth, Sarma stated in a speech on December 10.
When a FIR was still not filed in February, Khaleque moved the sub-divisional judicial magistrate's court, which found that the police had "failed in the discharge of its duty" and ordered the registration of a FIR.
Himanta Biswa Sarma is unlikely to face prosecution for his statements because the Gauhati High Court delayed the lower court judgement on March 11. It is, however, an unusual situation in which the court has taken cognizance of alleged hate speech by an incumbent chief minister and ordered police action.
"The chief minister's duty is to maintain peace, law, and order, but he is trying to break it by inciting people to attack Bengal-origin Muslims, which is a violation under Sections 153, 153A of the IPC," Khaleque said, referring to sections of the Indian Penal Code that prohibit inciting rioting and discriminatory attacks. "The CM's comment was issued on purpose to sow discord among different groups at a time when the state's social fabric was already fraying." The fact that a judge has ordered a FIR demonstrates that none other than Assam's chief minister committed a cognizable offence."
Other Muslim politicians in Assam have dared to oppose Sarma at their risk. Khaleque, on the other hand, has emerged unhurt from his allegation against the chief minister.
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