A public interest litigation has been filed in the Calcutta High Court seeking to halt suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir's plan to lay the foundation stone for a Babri Masjid-like mosque in Murshidabad on December 6, 2025. The petition alleges Kabir's remarks have disrupted communal harmony through hate speech. Kabir, facing multiple party reprimands, plans to contest the case legally.
Humayun Kabir, a 62-year-old Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA from Bharatpur in Murshidabad district, was suspended from the party for his resolve to build a mosque modelled on the Babri Masjid in Beldanga Block 1. The planned foundation stone laying is set for December 6, 2025, prompting a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Calcutta High Court.
Advocate Sabyasachi Chatterjee filed the PIL on behalf of the petitioner, seeking an urgent hearing before a division bench led by Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Pal. The petition argues that Kabir's decision and his alleged use of 'filthy and derogatory statements and hate speech against a community' over social media and YouTube could breach public tranquility and communal harmony. It specifically requests a stay to maintain law and order in the area.
Kabir, responding to media queries, stated, 'I have consulted with my legal counsel, they will appear before court and put forward their arguments.' This latest controversy adds to Kabir's turbulent political history. He began his career with Congress, joined TMC after its 2011 victory in West Bengal, and served as a minister before being expelled in 2014 for anti-party activities—a six-year ban. He briefly joined the BJP in 2018, contested the Lok Sabha elections from Murshidabad, and returned to TMC in 2021 to win the Bharatpur assembly seat.
His second TMC stint has been marked by reprimands. In May 2024, during Lok Sabha campaigning, Kabir claimed Muslims made up 70% of Murshidabad's population and Hindus 30%, threatening to throw BJP supporters into the Bhagirathi river. In November 2024, he received a showcause notice for demanding that TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee become deputy chief minister and home minister, later apologizing. On March 13, 2025, another notice followed for allegedly threatening Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.
Despite these issues, a senior TMC leader noted Kabir's clout in Rejinagar and Bharatpur constituencies, crediting him with mobilizing minority votes that helped TMC candidate Yousuf Pathan defeat Congress's Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Berhampore. However, the leader added that his exit would minimally impact the party, limited to one or two seats in Murshidabad. Over the past year, Kabir has repeatedly criticized the party, drawing warnings from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee against such behavior.