Gauhati High Court quashes sedition case against Assam MLA Aminul Islam

AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam, who was arrested under the National Security Act and other charges in April, was set free after the Gauhati High Court quashed his detention order. Issuing an order in a criminal writ petition, a division bench of Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Rajesh Mazumdar set aside the case against Islam and asked the authorities concerned to release him from jail. On April 24, the three-time MLA was arrested on sedition charges after he had made “misleading and instigating” statements in public, which went viral and had the “potential to create an adverse situation”.

“The petitioner was not informed about his right to prefer a representation to the detaining authority itself either when the order dated May 14, 2025, was served on him or at any time thereafter,” the High Court said while referring to a lower court directive... “What follows from the above is that the detaining authority, while issuing an order of preventive detention of a citizen, did not follow the rigours attached as conditions for exercise of the powers,” the HC order, passed on Thursday, said.

The judges also said that there is no explanation for the time consumed by any of the authorities while dealing with the representation filed by the petitioner. The AIUDF MLA made the comments after the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed at least 26 people, mostly tourists.