The Supreme Court on Thursday granted interim protection from arrest to journalist Abhisar Sharma for four weeks in connection with a first information report (FIR) registered against him in Assam over a video post allegedly criticising the state government's policies, PTI reported.

A bench comprising Justices MM Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh declined to entertain Sharma’s plea seeking quashing of the FIR but allowed him interim relief to approach the Gauhati High Court.

“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 for a period of four weeks so as to enable him to approach the high court,” the bench observed.