Journalist and YouTuber Abhisar Sharma has invoked the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction to challenge an FIR lodged by the Assam Police under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), contending that the provision invoked against him is unconstitutional. The matter is scheduled to be taken up on August 28 before a Division Bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh.
The FIR, registered at the behest of a complaint by one Alok Baruah, invokes Section 152, Section 196, and Section 197 of the BNS. The allegations arise from a video uploaded by Sharma, in which he criticised the Assam government’s allotment of land to private entities and accused Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of pursuing communal politics.
In the video, Sharma referred to proceedings before the Gauhati High Court concerning the grant of 3,000 bighas of land to Mahabal Cements for mining operations. He further alleged that 9,000 bighas of land had been allotted to the Adani Group, asserting that the State was favouring the conglomerate to the detriment of public interest. The complainant claims that Sharma’s remarks were calculated to provoke communal discord and foster distrust towards constitutional authorities.
At the heart of Sharma’s petition lies a constitutional challenge to Section 152 of the BNS, a provision introduced as a replacement for the erstwhile sedition law under Section 124A of the IPC. He contends that, far from being a reform, the provision perpetuates the criminalisation of political dissent and arms the executive with unchecked authority to stifle criticism of the government.
The petition has been filed through Advocate-on-Record Sumeer Sodhi. It seeks both the quashing of the FIR as well as judicial scrutiny into the vires of Section 152 of the BNS.
The development comes at a time when the Supreme Court is already seized of petitions assailing the constitutional validity of Section 152 of the BNS. Earlier this month, the Court granted interim protection from arrest to The Wire’s Founding Editor Siddharth Varadarajan and Consulting Editor Karan Thapar in relation to a similar FIR registered by Assam police.
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