Gauhati HC Issues Notice To Himanta Biswa Over Hate Speech: 'Fissiparous Tendency'

Last Updated:February 26, 2026, 16:13 IST

Several petitions were filed in the high court seeking action against Himanta Biswa for repeated hate speeches against the Muslim community.

The Gauhati High Court on Thursday issued a notice to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma after several petitions were filed in court seeking action against him for repeated hate speeches against the Muslim community.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury sought a response from Sarma, along with the Central and Assam governments, remarking that the Assam CM’s speeches showed “fissiparous tendency."

“Notice issued to respondents… Let notice be issued to Respondent 3 (Himanta Sarma)," the Court said, as per Bar and Bench. The matter will be taken up in court next in April.

The pleas accused Himanta Sarma of making repeated hate speeches, particularly targeting the Muslim community in Assam, by using the term ‘Miya’, which is used to address Muslims in a derogatory manner.

The pleas also mentioned a video shared by the BJP’s Assam unit, which showed Sarma shooting towards an animated image of two Muslim men, accompanied by phrases like ‘point blank shot’ and ‘No Mercy’.

Earlier, the Supreme Court declined to intervene in the matter, noting a “disturbing trend" of courts becoming political battlegrounds ahead of elections. The bench sent the matter to the Guwahati High Court.

ALSO READ: ‘Don’t Undermine Courts’: SC Slams Pleas Seeking FIR Against Himanta Sarma Over Hate Speech

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, who appeared for the petitioners, said it is an appropriate case for the Supreme Court to intervene as Sarma is a “habitual offender" and his remark affects the entire country. “It is sad to say but a constitutional authority in the state has acted repetitively, habitually, consistently and continuously by using words of a vituperative campaign of hate," Singhvi said.

Separate pleas have been filed by the CPI(M) and CPI leader Annie Raja, seeking the registration of FIRs against Sarma for alleged hate speech aimed at communal polarisation. They also sought the top court to set up a special investigation team (SIT) because an independent probe was not expected from the state or the central agencies.

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