Govt to withdraw 100,000 minor cases to reduce burden on judiciary: Assam CM

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the celebrations over the past few days have shown secessionist groups that people consider Assam to be an integral and inalienable part of India since time immemorial

GUWAHATI: The Assam government will withdraw 100,000 cases relating to minor offences including criminal cases registered over social media posts to reduce the burden on the lower judiciary, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the government will withdraw minor cases so that the judiciary can focus more on important cases such as rape and murder. (Twitter/himantabiswa)

“We are concerned about the situation in the judiciary. At present, nearly 450,000 cases are pending in the lower judiciary in Assam. As a result, many important cases such as rape and murder are not getting heard on time or the perpetrators are not getting convicted,” Sarma said in his Independence Day address in Guwahati.

“Today I announce that nearly 100,000 minor cases such as those about posting comments on Facebook, Twitter and others which were registered till midnight of August 14, 2022 will be withdrawn so that the judiciary can focus more on important cases such as rape and murder. We will also decide on releasing prisoners who have been in jail for a long time for minor cases,” Sarma added.

In an hour-long address, Sarma also referred to the success of the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, saying it was a message to secessionist groups who have dreamt of an independent Assam and asked them to come to the discussion table for talks.

“I think the past three days were a big lesson for those who plan and dream of an independent Assam. I think they should come to the discussion table and with self-respect, dignity and honour to help make Assam one of the best states in the country,” the CM said.

“The immense patriotism displayed by people of the state in the past three days (by flying the Tricolour) showed that we don’t support terrorism. Assam has always been an inseparable part of India and its culture,” the chief minister said, recollecting the contribution made by freedom fighters from the region.

“We have decided that this year, we will send 1,000 youth from Assam to visit the Cellular Jail in Andaman so that they are able to witness the lives of our freedom fighters who were imprisoned there and get inspired,” said Sarma.

The chief minister appealed to everyone to plant one tree and take care of them like their children to help in reducing global warming.

He also announced the introduction of both Assamese and English as the medium of instruction in nearly 4,000 government schools and proposed ₹10,000 crore to improve the infrastructure of these schools.