Overview

• The bench of Justices M. M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh declined to quash the FIR at this stage and told Sharma to approach the Gauhati High Court.
• His petition was tagged with pending constitutional challenges to BNS Section 152, which critics describe as a retooled sedition provision.
• Assam Police registered the FIR at the Guwahati Crime Branch on a complaint by Alok Baruah over an August 8 YouTube video.
• Sharma is booked under multiple BNS provisions, including Sections 152 and 196, after he cited Gauhati High Court observations on a 3,000‑bigha land allotment in Dima Hasao.
• Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Vivek Tankha argued for Sharma as the court granted interim protection from arrest for four weeks.