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Court restrains Congress leaders from commenting on Himanta Biswa Sarma’s assets
The court passed an interim order in Sarma’s civil suit seeking ₹500 crore in damages over what he termed “false, malicious and defamatory” allegations
A court in Guwahati on Thursday restrained Congress leaders Gaurav Gogoi, Jitendra Singh, and Bhupesh Baghel from commenting on the assets of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his family, and newspaper Asomiya Pratidin from publishing any related material until the next hearing on March 9.
It passed an interim order in Sarma’s civil defamation suit seeking ₹500 crore in damages over what he termed “false, malicious and defamatory” allegations made at a Congress press conference on February 4.
Sarma said that he would declare his assets before the Election Commission of India, and everyone will know. He asked Congress to stop making claims without proof. “I suggest Congress focus on more important issues rather than making false claims about me.”
Gogoi said Sarma moved the court instead of seeking justice from the public. “This shows he does not respect or trust the people of Assam.”
Assam advocate general Devajit Saikia said Sarma moved court after Congress leaders made wild allegations against him and his family at the press conference and through subsequent media publications. He added that the Congress leaders claimed that Sarma and his family acquired around 1,200 bighas of land across Assam. Saikia said they made allegations of land grabbing, “HBS tax”, and links to alleged scams. The allegations were reported in some local newspapers on February 5.
“The chief minister submitted before the court that all properties owned by him and his family have been duly declared in election affidavits, income tax returns, and statutory records. There is no undisclosed property in their names,” Saikia said.
Sarma sought an interim injunction restraining the defendants and certain media houses from repeating or publishing the allegations.
Saikia said the court found a prima facie case and observed that continued publication of such allegations could cause irreparable damage to Sarma’s reputation and granted interim relief restraining the Congress leaders from making similar statements until the next hearing.
On February 4, the Assam Congress launched a campaign titled “Who Is HBS”, a website and pamphlet questioning Sarma’s alleged land holdings and business interests. The website briefly went offline shortly after its launch.
Gogoi alleged that Sarma and his family owned vast tracts of land and had manipulated rules to convert agricultural land for industrial use. Baghel and Jitendra Singh echoed similar charges, alleging irregularities dating back to before Sarma joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2015.
Sarma rejected the accusations as politically motivated and announced that he would pursue civil and criminal defamation proceedings. On Tuesday, he said he had filed the ₹500 crore suit.
The Congress accused Sarma of attempting to silence political opposition and lodged police complaints and staged protests.
