Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate B Baruah of the Kamrup Metro district observed that the police had to have filed a FIR in connection with Sarma’s December 2021 remark.
“The authenticity of the allegations cannot be verified prior to the filing of the FIR. The police appear to have failed to perform their duties by failing to even record the FIR “According to the Court.
The Court was hearing a case brought by Abdul Khaleque, a Member of Parliament from Assam’s Barpeta constituency, in response to the Chief Minister’s address in Morigaon, in which he allegedly alluded to acts of violence during an eviction drive as an act of retaliation.
It was claimed that the CM’s words were made with the intention of upsetting the state’s already weak communal fabric.
The complaint requested that Sarma be charged with offences under Indian Penal Code Sections 153 (wantonly offering provocation with the purpose to provoke unrest) and 153A (promoting hatred between different communities and performing acts detrimental to maintaining harmony) at the Dispur Police Station (IPC).
The Court stated at the outset that the Supreme Court had ‘unequivocally held’ in Lalita Kumar vs State of UP that it is obligatory to file a FIR under Section 153 of the CrPC if the information supplied reveals that a cognisable offence was committed.
Given that this did not occur in this case, the Court determined that it was a proper cause to invoke its authority under Section 156(3) of the CrPC (Magistrate’s power to direct investigation).
As a result, the Court ordered the officer-in-charge of the Dispur Police Station to file a FIR, conduct an investigation, and submit a final form as soon as possible.
In the matter before the local court, attorney SA Borbhuyan represented the complainant.
A public interest litigation suit against the violent eviction drive in issue is currently being heard by the Gauhati High Court. During an eviction campaign across villages in Sipajhar district on September 23, at least two people were killed in police firing and twenty others were injured in clashes between security forces and civilians at Gorukhuti.
On October 7, the High Court ordered the State of Assam to produce a thorough affidavit on the recent evictions in Darrang District, which resulted in violent fights, including a horrible video that went viral on social media showing a photographer stomping forcefully on a man’s body.
The fights were described as “a terrible state of affairs” by a Division Bench led by Chief Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Soumitra Sakia.
