Chief Justice Surya Kant said that as elections approach, political battles find a way to the court, adding that it will examine the matter.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India leader Annie Raja have moved the Supreme Court seeking action against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for remarks targeting the Muslim community, Live Law reported on Tuesday.
Later in the day, the Congress’ Assam unit filed a police complaint against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for sharing a video depicting Sarma symbolically firing at images of two Muslim men at point-blank range, PTI reported.
The video, which was posted by the Assam unit of the BJP on Saturday, has since been deleted following criticism.
The clip combined what appeared to be original footage of the BJP leader handling rifles with artificial intelligence-generated images portraying Muslims as targets. On-screen text included slogans such as “Foreigner free Assam”, “No mercy”, “Why did you not go to Pakistan?” and “There is no forgiveness to Bangladeshis”.
On Tuesday, Advocate Nizam Pasha mentioned the Left parties’ petitions before Chief Justice 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,” Live Law quoted Pasha as submitting before the court. “Complaints are filed, but no FIRs are registered.”
Responding to the plea, Kant observed that ahead of elections, political battles find their way into the Supreme Court, Live Law reported.
Elections in the state are expected to be held in March or April.
Kant added that the court would examine the matter and provide a date for hearing.
In Assam, Congress MLAs Sibamoni Bora and Diganta Barman lodged a complaint against the BJP at Dispur Police Station in Guwahati.
The MLAs stated that the content “targeting a particular community is highly provocative and communal, which will definitely lead [to] social disharmony amongst the people”, PTI reported.
On Monday, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi filed a complaint with the Telangana Police against Sarma for the video.
Sarma said later that day that he is “against Bangladeshi infiltrators and will continue to be against them”, ANI reported.
On Sunday, Sarma told reporters that he had not seen the video. “Has anything been posted from my account?” Times Now quoted the chief minister as saying. “I am the chief minister of Assam…I have to speak with responsibility.”
The Assam BJP post on Saturday came against the backdrop of a series of remarks that Sarma made targeting Miyas, or Bengali-origin Muslims, in the state. The chief minister had said that it was his job to “make them suffer”.
In Assam, “Miya” is a derogatory word used to refer to undocumented immigrants and is exclusively directed at Muslims of Bengali origin. They are often accused of being undocumented migrants from Bangladesh.
Once a pejorative in Assam, from the common use of the honorific “Miya” among South Asian Muslims, the term has now been reappropriated by the community as a self-descriptor to refer to Muslims who migrated to Assam from Bengal during the colonial era.
Plea in Supreme Court
The CPI (Marxist) and Raja have filed separate writ petitions seeking the registration of first information reports against the chief minister for offences related to hate speech and communal polarisation.
They have also sought the setting up of a Special Investigation Team by the Supreme Court, arguing that state and central agencies cannot be expected to conduct an independent and impartial inquiry, Live Law reported.
They have placed on record statements made by the chief minister between 2021 and February 2026 that allegedly call for the social, economic and civic exclusion of Bengali-origin Muslims, including calls to restrict access to livelihoods, transport, land and voting rights.
The petitions claim that these remarks have had real-world consequences, with reports of discrimination and harassment allegedly being justified by perpetrators as acting on the chief minister’s directions, Live Law reported.
It also added that the remarks violate the oath taken by the chief minister to uphold the Constitution, sovereignty, integrity, fraternity and equality.
The speeches are alleged to attract offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and electoral offences under the 1951 Representation of the People Act, Live Law reported.
On Monday, another writ petition was filed by 12 persons highlighting Sarma’s remarks, including references to “Miya” Muslims and “flood jihad”, and seeking directions to restrain holders of constitutional posts from making divisive statements, Live Law reported.
The Islamic clerics’ group Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind has also raised concerns about the chief minister’s speeches and urged the Supreme Court to issue similar directions, Live Law reported.
Also read: Himanta Sarma’s remarks about ‘Miyas’ make a mockery of the Constitution
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