SC declines to entertain petitions against CM
Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court of India declined to entertain petitions seeking action against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for offences related to hate speech. The apex court asked the petitioners to approach the Gauhati High Court first.
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Surya Kant, told the petitioners, “Don’t undermine the authority of the high courts. It has become a trend now that every matter lands up in the Supreme Court. Don’t demoralise the high court judges.”
On behalf of the petitioners, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, seeking registration of an FIR and a special investigation team (SIT) to probe against CM Sarma for his alleged hate speech, argued that the Chief Minister, as a constitutional functionary, had violated his oath of office. He is brazenly speaking against one entire community, directly invoking Article 32 of the Constitution.
The Chief Justice expressed strong disapproval of the trend of the petitioners directly approaching the Supreme Court, bypassing the high courts. The jurisdictional high courts can effectively adjudicate all these issues. Respect the high courts; have faith in the system. We see no reason to entertain this here; thus, we relegate the petitioners to the jurisdictional high courts. We request the high court chief justice to expedite the hearing,” the Chief Justice said.
Advocate Singhvi requested the Chief Justice of India to allow them to approach any of the high courts in the country other than the Gauhati High Court. This plea caused the bench, led by the Chief Justice, to describe it as ‘very unfortunate’ and to reject it outright. “Please go through the channel, trust the high court and let them decide. We’re absolutely confident that the high court will deal with the matter in accordance with principles,” the Chief Justice said.
The CPI-M and the CPI filed two of the three petitions, while four Assamese individuals filed the third one. The petition filed by the four Assamese individuals sought the court’s urgent intervention over a series of alleged hate speeches by the Chief Minister targeting the Muslim community in Assam with the claim that the CM used expressions such as ‘Miyan’ and ‘Bangladeshis’, described in the plea as derogatory slurs against Bengali-origin Muslims in Assam.
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