A Delhi court on Tuesday sought a response from Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to a petition filed by Delhi-based activist and writer Harsh Mander seeking the registration of a first information report against him for alleged hate speech, Live Law reported.Additional Sessions Judge Sonu Agnihotri of Saket courts also sought the response of the Delhi Police in the matter. Mander is seeking that an FIR be registered against the Bharatiya Janata Party leader under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to promoting enmity, statements conducive to public mischief and acts intended to outrage religious feelings.In February, Mander filed a complaint at Delhi’s Hauz Khas police station against Sarma after the chief minister repeatedly made remarks targeting the Miya community, and said that it was his job to “make them suffer”.In Assam, “Miya” is a derogatory word used to refer to undocumented immigrants and is exclusively directed at Muslims of Bengali origin. They are often accused of being undocumented migrants from Bangladesh.Sarma claimed on January 27 that four lakh to five lakh “Miya” voters will be deleted when the special intensive revision of electoral rolls takes place in Assam. “Yes, we are trying to steal some Miya votes,” he said. “Ideally, they should not be allowed to vote in Assam. They should be able to vote in Bangladesh.”Responding to Mander’s complaint, Sarma at the time had said that he would file “at least 100 cases” against the activist. He also claimed he had the “necessary material” to do so.Mander had also filed a complaint case before the Saket courts seeking an FIR against Sarma, Bar and Bench reported.On April 20, the Judicial Magistrate First Class dismissed Mander’s petition and refused to direct the filing of an FIR against Sarma, citing a lack of territorial jurisdiction, Live Law reported. Mander failed to show any material on record proving that the alleged remarks caused enmity, disharmony or incitement within the court’s jurisdiction, it added.On Tuesday, Mander’s counsel argued before Agnihotri that the magistrate court had wrongly dismissed the application.Relying on the concept of Zero FIR, the counsel also noted that Section 173(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita permitted information related to the commission of a cognisable offence to be given to a police station “irrespective of the area where the offence is committed”.The matter has been listed for further hearing on July 15, Bar and Bench reported.Edited by Sneha.