Guwahati:Guwahati High Court, on Friday, stayed an order of the lower court asking a police station in Guwahati to register an FIR against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The single bench court of Justice Hitesh Sarma on Friday heard a petition filed by Advocate General Devajit Saikia in this regard and sent a notice to Congress MP Abdul Khaleque and asked the lower court to submit the details of the case to the High Court. Earlier this month, the court of Kamrup Chief Judicial Magistrate, while hearing a petition filed by the Congress MP, instructed the Dispur police station to register an FIR against the Chief Minister.
After the CJM order, Assam's Advocate General Devajit Saikia approached the Gauhati High Court on behalf of the Assam government and challenged the order. The court of Hitesh Saikia on Friday heard the petition and not only stayed the order but also sent notice to Abdul Khaleque.
Congress Lok Sabha MP from Barpeta Abdul Khaleque approached the court of Kamrup Chief Judicial Magistrate on February 29 after the Dispur police station refused to register an FIR against the Chief Minister. Khaleque, stated in his FIR that the Assam Chief Minister, while addressing a public rally at Morigaon on December 10 last year made some communal comments (provocative speech) regarding the eviction drive at Gorukhuti in Darrang district. The Dispur police, however, refused to lodge the FIR.
"The high court while hearing our petition on Friday stayed the order of the CJM court. The court has also asked the Congress MP to submit his response by April 1 and instructed the lower court to submit the records to the high court. As the case is listed for April 1, the Dispur police are not going to register the FIR against the Chief Minister till then," said Advocate General Devajit Saikia.
Saikia further mentioned that they have also inquired about the allegation and that the Chief Minister had never mentioned any religion in his speech. According to the Supreme Court ruling, if one wants to charge someone under Section 153 of the IPC, the speaker must speak about at least two religions. However, there was no mention of such in the Chief Minister's speech," said Saikia.
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