The Supreme Court on Tuesday remarked that political battles are often fought in the apex court, as a plea alleging hate speech by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was mentioned for listing. The observation
was made by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N V Anjaria.
“There is a video also now by the Chief minister taking a shot at the minorities etc,” advocate Nizam Pasha submitted while mentioning the plea on behalf of the petitioner, reported Bar and Bench.
Responding to the submission, the CJI said, “The problem is when elections come, it is often fought here in the Supreme Court only. We will see.”
The plea has been filed by Communist Party of India leader Annie Raja, objecting to a public speech delivered by Sarma on January 27.
In the speech, the Assam Chief Minister allegedly stated that “four to five lakh Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls and that “Hemant Biswa Sarma and the BJP are directly against Miyas”. The term “Miya” is commonly used in a derogatory manner to refer to Muslims.
Earlier, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind had also approached the Supreme Court against Sarma’s remarks, contending that hate speech targeting religious communities constitutes an aggravated constitutional wrong.
“Such speech not only harms the sensibilities and emotions of the followers of those personalities, but also seriously affects public order in the social sphere and also the overall moral compass of the society at large which is highly diverse and religious,” it submitted. The organisation further argued that courts must examine the use of derogatory terms against Muslims in public discourse in the context in which they are deployed.
