The Supreme Court on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) termed the petition filed against some specific people regarding hateful statements made by people holding high constitutional posts. The court said that the petitioner should go beyond politics and file the petition. The petitioner has mentioned some people and conveniently left out the statements of many others.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners, agreed that it was not right to mention the names of certain leaders in the petition. He said that he will file the amended petition in two weeks.
In the petition of 12 people including social activist Roop Rekha Verma, the anti-Muslim video of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the statements of leaders of UP, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh were also mentioned. The Supreme Court said, ‘We also want that there should be brotherhood in the society and that people should give their statements responsibly, but if the purpose of the petitioner is to target only certain people, then such a petition cannot be heard.’
On Monday, the Supreme Court had also refused to hear the petition filed regarding the controversial speech and video of Himanta Biswa Sarma. The court directed the petitioners to go to the High Court and said that they should not come directly to the Supreme Court. In these petitions, action was requested regarding the viral video in which Himanta Biswa Sarma was seen aiming a rifle and firing bullets towards the members of a particular community.
Expressing strong objection to the tendency of the parties to directly approach the Supreme Court, the bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M Pancholi asked the petitioners to approach the Gauhati High Court with their complaint.
The court had told the petitioner not to underestimate the power of the High Court, there are capable judges and lawyers there. Making a strong comment, the court also said that no matter where the elections are held, this court becomes a political battlefield before the elections. He said that political parties should contest elections with mutual respect and self-control.
(With inputs from Nipun Sehgal)
