Agartala, Oct. 13 -- The Tripura High Court has dismissed a petition filed by veteran leader and former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar seeking to quash a First Information Report (FIR) registered against him over an allegedly provocative public speech.

A division bench of the High Court comprising Justice T Amarnath Goud and Justice Biswajit Palit delivered the verdict, ruling that the police investigation into the matter will proceed.

The case stems from a public statement made by the former Chief Minister during a political program, where he reportedly claimed that both the state and the country were moving toward militant movements (jongi andoloner pothe). Following the remark, which critics alleged created an uneasy atmosphere in the s...