Assam land row: Supreme Court grants interim protection to journalist Abhisar Sharma; declines to quash FIR

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday granted journalist and YouTuber Abhisar Sharma four weeks’ protection from arrest in connection with an FIR filed by Assam Police .

The case relates to a video Sharma uploaded on 8 August, criticising the Assam government’s alleged communal politics and questioning the allotment of 3,000 bighas of land in the tribal Dima Hasao district to a private firm for a cement factory.

While the Court refused to entertain Sharma’s plea to quash the FIR and challenge the validity of Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with acts endangering India's sovereignty, it issued notice on the constitutional validity of the section. The bench asked Sharma to approach the Gauhati high court for further relief.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Sharma, urged the Court to maintain consistency, noting similar relief had been granted to other journalists. “Civil society looks up to the Supreme Court. Please don’t do this,” he said.