₹500 Crore Defamation Suit: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma Sues Congress Leaders Over Family Land Allegations

The Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, has instituted a civil suit seeking damages of ₹500 crore against leaders of the Indian National Congress, alleging that they made defamatory statements concerning him and his family’s landholdings.

In a post on social media platform X on Tuesday, Sarma wrote, "Today, I have filed a defamation case seeking ₹500 crore in damages against Congress leaders Jitendra Singh, Bhupesh Baghel and Gaurav Gogoi for making false, malicious and defamatory allegations against me through a press conference."

The suit has reportedly been filed before a competent court in Guwahati.

In an earlier post on February 4, Sarma had informed that he would be initiating civil and criminal defamation proceedings against the Congress leaders.

The legal action follows a press conference addressed by Congress leaders earlier this month, during which allegations were levelled that Sarma’s family had accumulated approximately 12,000 bighas of land across the state.

The opposition party is also stated to have circulated documents and launched a digital platform purportedly detailing what it described as irregularities in the chief minister’s asset holdings.

In response, Sarma denied the allegations in unequivocal terms, asserting that the statements were false, malicious and calculated to damage his personal and political reputation.

In the February 4 X post, he had written," The era of hit-and-run politics is over. If they have even an ounce of courage or evidence, let them prove every allegation before a court of law. I will not be intimidated by propaganda, coordinated slander, or political theatrics of so called slaves of Gandhi family."

The plaint reportedly contends that the statements constitute actionable defamation under civil law and seeks substantial monetary damages on the ground that the allegations have caused reputational harm.