Assam FIR: SC shields Abhisar Sharma for 4 weeks, seeks Centre’s reply on BNS Section152
The apex court sought Centre’s response on Sharma’s plea questioning the validity of Section 152 of BNS
A file image of the Supreme Court. (Photo: IANS)
New Delhi, August 28: The Supreme Court, on Thursday, granted interim protection for four weeks to journalist Abhisar Sharma in an FIR lodged against him in Assam over a video post allegedly criticising the state's policies.
While granting the interim protection, a bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh asked Sharma to approach the Gauhati High Court to seek quashing of the FIR lodged against him.
However, the apex court issued notice to the Centre seeking its response on his prayer challenging the validity of Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
"In so far as the challenge to the FIR is concerned, we are not inclined to entertain. However, we are inclined to give interim protection to the petitioner (Sharma) for a period of four weeks so as to enable him to approach the high court," the bench said.
The plea, filed through advocate Sumeer Sodhi, said the FIR was registered on a complaint made by a private person against a video posted by Sharma on his YouTube Channel in which he questioned the wisdom of allotting 3,000 bighas of tribal land to a private entity.
The FIR was registered against journalist Sharma at the Guwahati Crime Branch police station, based on a complaint filed by Alok Baruah.
The complaint alleged that a video uploaded by Sharma on his YouTube channel on August 8 could create “communal tension and distrust among state authorities”.
Sharma has been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 152 and 196, which relate to promoting enmity between groups.
With this, Sharma has become the third journalist to secure interim protection from the Supreme Court in less than a week.
Earlier, on August 22, the apex court granted protection from arrest to journalists Siddharth Varadarajan and Karan Thapar in connection with an FIR lodged by Assam Police over a news article.
The first FIR in the case was registered on May 9 by the Guwahati Crime Branch against Varadarajan and Thapar under Section 152 of the BNS, which pertains to acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
PTI