Assam Police Book Journalist Abhisar Sharma for Criticising CM in YouTube Video
New Delhi, August 22: Assam Police have filed a case against senior Delhi-based journalist Abhisar Sharma over a recent YouTube video in which he criticised Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and highlighted a controversial land allotment by the state government.
The first information report (FIR), lodged at the Crime Branch police station in Guwahati, invokes several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) including Section 152, a provision viewed as a new version of the repealed sedition law. This section deals with actions deemed to endanger “sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.”
The Complaint
The FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint by a local resident, Alok Baruah, who alleged that Sharma’s YouTube commentary contained statements that:
- Ridiculed the Assam and Union governments
- Accused the Chief Minister of pursuing communal politics to divide Hindus and Muslims
- Mocked the concept of Ram Rajya
- Promoted “enmity between groups” and weakened public harmony
The complaint claimed Sharma’s words were not just critical commentary but an attempt to “provoke disorder and disaffection against the state.”
What Triggered the Case
In the video, uploaded on August 18, Sharma referred to Guwahati High Court judge Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi’s stern observations on a government decision to transfer nearly 3,000 bighas of tribal land to Mahabal Cement.
He went on to criticise Chief Minister Sarma, alleging that by fuelling Hindu-Muslim debates, the CM diverts attention from governance issues.
Sharma’s Response
Responding to the FIR, Sharma said on social media platform X that the case is “completely baseless” and will be contested through legal means.
“In my show, I mentioned the High Court judge’s statement on the land deal and highlighted the Chief Minister’s use of communal politics with facts — based on his own speeches,” Sharma wrote.
Pattern of Action Against Journalists
This development comes shortly after the Assam Police summoned senior journalists Siddharth Varadarajan and Karan Thapar of The Wire in similar FIRs, also invoking Section 152 of the BNS.
Several media watchdogs have expressed concern that the sedition-style provision is now being used against journalists and commentators critical of the government.
Source of Report
Information gathered from: The Indian Express, The Wire, X (formerly Twitter) account of Abhisar Sharma, Assam Police records.
