The Gauhati High Court reserved its order on Congress leader Pawan Khera’s anticipatory bail plea in a case linked to an FIR filed by Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma over multiple passport allegations.
The Gauhati High Court reserved its verdict on Congress leader Pawan Khera’s plea seeking anticipatory bail in a case recently registered against him by the Crime Branch of Assam Police in Guwahati.
The bench of Justice Parthivjyoti Saikia reserved its final order after extensively hearing arguments from both sides.
Earlier, Khera filed an anticipatory bail petition in the Gauhati High Court in a case registered against him in Guwahati by the Crime Branch of Assam Police.
Appearing for Khera, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi cited CM Himanta’s alleged remarks against Khera and argued that his actions appear to be politically motivated, particularly given the elections that are soon approaching.
Adding that the petitioner is not a flight risk and that there is no need or necessity for his arrest, Singhvi submitted,
“On what basis can the petitioner expect a fair treatment when the Chief Minister is breathing down his neck?”
Senior Counsel KN Choudhary supported Singhvi’s arguments and described the allegations against Khera as baseless and scandalous.
The complaint was filed by the CM’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, on April 6, naming Khera and others alleged to have acted in connivance with him.
She alleged that Khera’s claims during two press conferences on April 5 one in New Delhi and another in Guwahati that she held multiple passports/golden cards and had foreign property were false and baseless.
She further contended that the documents produced by Khera to back the allegations were “all fake, doctored, forged and fabricated”, and that the accusations were made with “criminal intent to create public disorder and public insinuation, likely to incite public unrest, mislead citizens and disturb public tranquillity , at a highly sensitive electoral stage”.
The case against Khera was registered at the Guwahati Crime Branch under multiple provisions, including 175 (false statement in connection with an election) and 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Earlier Developments
A search at Khera’s residence was carried out in connection with the complaint filed by the chief minister’s wife over his claims. Speaking to reporters outside the Congress leader’s home, Assam police DCP Debojit Nath said that Khera was not present. He added that a search was conducted and electronic devices were seized. Some “incriminating material” was found but its details cannot be disclosed at this stage
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had warned of legal action against Khera, who had in a press conference on Sunday alleged that the chief minister’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, has multiple passports and foreign property, which were not declared in the CM’s election affidavit.
The Congress hit out at Sarma, alleging that he was “disturbed and rattled” due to “imminent” defeat in the April 9 polls and was using state machinery to muzzle the opposition’s voice, but the chief minister said the police will hunt down Khera from “pataal (netherworld) to question him on the “false documents” that he had used to target his family.
Sarma had also alleged that the Congress used “false information” sourced from a Pakistani social media group to level “baseless” and malicious” allegations against his wife. The BJP leader termed it an attempt to influence the Assam elections and a punishable offence. The chief minister had said his wife has filed a complaint against Khera.
Khera was earlier granted one-week transit anticipatory bail by the Telangana High Court on April 10. However, the Supreme Court last week intervened after a plea by the Assam government, staying the high court’s order. The apex court also refused to entertain Khera’s request for protection from arrest until April 20 in the case brought by Bhuyan Sharma.
The Supreme Court directed Khera to approach a court in Assam for anticipatory bail and noted that it would hear his application without taking into account any adverse observations, if any, made by the Telangana High Court.
Recently, a Chief Judicial Magistrate court in Guwahati has dismissed Assam Police’s request to issue a non-bailable arrest warrant against Congress leader Pawan Khera.