The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed on the consideration of listing a plea filed by left leaders who sought action against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on the viral video, which demonstrated him arming a rifle and firing at the member of the Muslim community; however, he later deleted the video on receiving the outrage.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N V Anjaria, took note of submissions made by advocate Nizam Pasha, appearing for leaders of the CPI and CPI(M), and said it would consider listing the matter for hearing.
“We are seeking urgent intervention of this court regarding disturbing speeches made by the sitting Chief Minister of Assam, including a recent video where he is seen shooting at members of a particular community. Complaints have been filed, but no FIR has been registered so far,” Pasha said.
“The problem is that as soon as elections come, part of the election is fought in the Supreme Court. That is the issue. We will examine it and give a date,” the CJI responded.
A controversial video was shared by Assam BJP’s official X handle showing the Assam CM aiming and firing at AI-generated people resembling the Muslim men with skullcaps and beards.
The 18-second video interspersed real footage of Sarma handling a rifle with AI-generated overlays depicting him aiming and firing at targets, before concluding with his portrayal as a stylized cowboy figure. The clip carried captions such as “Point blank shot,” “No mercy,” “Foreigner-free Assam,” “No mercy to Bangladeshis,” and “Why did you not go to Pakistan?”, along with the slogan “jaati, maati, bheti” (ethnicity, land, homeland).
