SC declines to hear hate-speech FIR vs Assam CM, sends case to Gauhati High Court
SC declines to hear hate-speech FIR vs Assam CM, sends case to Gauhati High Court
SC declines to hear hate-speech FIR against Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, directing petitioners to Gauhati High Court amid calls to uphold secular ethos.
The Supreme Court on Monday, February 16, 2026, found “no good reason” to entertain petitions seeking a criminal investigation against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for alleged hate speeches and a social media post depicting him firing a gun toward an animated image of two Muslim men. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant directed the petitioners—led by CPI(M) and CPI—to approach the Gauhati High Court, even as they argued that Sarma is the “boss of Assam.”
The petitioners allege a “sustained pattern of hate speeches” and pointed to a February 7, 2026 video circulated from the official BJP Assam Pradesh X handle, which they say showed him firing at the image of Muslims. They asserted the material, which had been deleted, was widely disseminated and damaged the secular ethos foundational to the Constitution, especially with elections approaching.
While the court agreed that no political leader or constitutional officeholder should conduct themselves in a manner that harms secular morality, it refused to entertain the FIR or a SIT probe in this instance, insisting the petitioners pursue remedies in the appropriate lower court. The bench underscored the need for restraint and warned against bypassing lower judicial forums, describing such bypass an “undermining” of their authority and a troubling election-year trend.
The decision effectively leaves the matter to the Gauhati High Court, highlighting the court’s insistence on procedural propriety and constitutional boundaries in a highly charged political climate.
