Assam: A civil court in Guwahati has restrained senior Congress leaders including Jorhat MP and Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, from making any further public comments regarding the property and land holdings of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The order comes in connection with a Rs 500 cr defamation suit filed by the Chief Minister earlier this week.
The ad-interim injunction was issued on February 11 by Civil Judge (Senior Division) No. 1 Nayanjyoti Sarma of the Kamrup (Metro) District Civil Court. Besides Gogoi, the order also applies to former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and AICC general secretary Jitendra Singh. The court also extended the restraint to representatives of an Assamese daily, including Pratidin Group owner Jayanta Baruah, which had published reports based on the allegations raised by Congress leaders.
The defamation case arose after a February 4 press conference at Rajiv Bhawan in Guwahati, where the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) accused the Chief Minister and his family of illegally occupying nearly 12,000 bighas of land roughly 3,960 acres across the state. Congress leaders termed the issue a ‘major land scam’ and also launched a campaign and a website highlighting the allegations.
Chief Minister Sarma rejected the charges, calling them ‘false, malicious and politically motivated,’ and announced civil as well as criminal defamation proceedings. On February 10, he formally filed the Rs 500 cr suit seeking damages and a permanent injunction against further publication or circulation of the allegations.
The court granted the temporary injunction under Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure, noting that the statements appeared prima facie defamatory and required interim protection to prevent possible harm to the plaintiff’s reputation. The defendants have been directed to appear before the court on March 9, 2026, in Misc (J) Case No. 156/2026 arising out of Title Suit No. 85/2026.
Addressing the media on February 12, Assam Advocate General Devajit Saikia said that all assets owned by the Chief Minister had been disclosed in affidavits submitted to the Election Commission during Assembly elections and were also reflected in income tax returns. He challenged the Congress leaders to present documentary evidence before the court to support their claims, warning that failure to do so could lead to the full Rs 500 cr damages being imposed.
Saikia also cited several Supreme Court judgments, including those involving Bloomberg Television Production Services India Pvt Ltd, Express Newspapers, and Subramanian Swamy, to stress that freedom of speech is subject to reasonable restrictions when an individual’s reputation is at stake.
The Congress, however has said that the case is an attempt to silence political criticism. Party leaders have earlier described the allegations as part of their investigation into alleged irregularities and indicated that they would contest the matter in court. Some Congress MLAs have also filed a separate police complaint against the Chief Minister over a now-deleted social media video they claim was provocative.
The legal battle reflects the continuing political confrontation between the ruling BJP and the Congress in Assam. Sarma, who moved from Congress to the BJP in 2015 and later became Chief Minister, has often been a central figure in opposition attacks, while the BJP maintains that such allegations are politically motivated.
With the next hearing scheduled for March 9, the focus will now shift to whether the Congress leaders can produce evidence supporting their claims. Until then, the court’s injunction effectively bars the named leaders from publicly repeating the land-holding allegations.
