In a huge blow to the BJP-led government in Assam, the Gauhati High Court on Thursday absolved RTI activist and peasants’ leader Akhil Gogoi of sedition charges and ordered an inquiry into the apparent irregularities perpetrated by the Assam government during his arrest. He was detained under the National Security Act (NSA), 1980.

Justice Achintya Malla Bujar Barua passed the judgment, after conducting eight rounds of hearing, which stated that he was entitled to immediate release if not arrested in any other case.

Gogoi, the leader of peasants’ body Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), was arrested by the Dibrugarh police on September 13. According to reports, the government asserted that Gogoi, while addressing a rally in Moran, Assam, had said, "If Hindu migrants from Bangladesh were forced upon Assam people, people here would be compelled to take up arms."