The Supreme Court of India has granted anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a case filed by the Assam Police over allegations of defamation, forgery and criminal conspiracy.

A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar set aside the Guwahati High Court order that had earlier refused relief to Khera. The top court said the case appeared to have a political background and that Khera’s personal liberty needed protection.

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The court observed that the allegations and counter-allegations in the matter appeared to be linked to political rivalry and did not show a clear need for custodial interrogation.

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The case was registered after Khera, during a press conference, made allegations against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife Riniki Bhuyan. He had claimed that she held multiple foreign passports and had undisclosed assets abroad.

Earlier, the Assam Police had visited Khera’s residence in Delhi on April 7, but he was not present there. Khera later approached the Telangana High Court for transit anticipatory bail. On April 10, the Telangana High Court granted him protection for one week so that he could approach the appropriate court in Assam.

However, on April 15, the Supreme Court stayed the Telangana High Court’s order after the Assam government challenged it. Two days later, on April 17, the Supreme Court refused to extend the transit bail and asked Khera to move the Guwahati High Court.

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Khera then approached the Guwahati High Court, arguing that his statements were made in a political and public context during a press conference. He claimed that the FIR was filed with a political motive.

On April 24, the Guwahati High Court rejected his plea. The High Court said custodial interrogation was needed to find out who had given Khera the documents used by him to make the allegations. It also observed that the case was not merely about defamation, as the claims made by Khera were yet to be proved.

Khera then moved the Supreme Court against the High Court order.

Appearing for Khera, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued that the case was mainly based on documents already available with the authorities and that there was no need to arrest him for questioning. He also said the remarks were made during political campaigning.

The Assam government opposed the plea. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State, argued that the documents shown during the press conference were forged and that Khera’s custodial interrogation was necessary to trace their source.

After going through the records, the Supreme Court noted that the events took place during an election period and involved statements from both sides. The court also took note of public remarks made by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma regarding Khera.

The bench said that personal liberty is a fundamental right and any move to take away that liberty must be backed by strong reasons, especially when the case appears to have political overtones.

The Supreme Court allowed Khera’s appeal and directed that he be released on anticipatory bail if arrested. The court also laid down certain conditions, including that he must cooperate with the investigation, not tamper with evidence and not leave India without permission from the competent court.

The court clarified that its observations were limited only to the question of anticipatory bail and would not affect the final outcome of the criminal case.

SC Grants Anticipatory Bail to Congress Leader Pawan Khera

SC Grants Anticipatory Bail to Congress Leader Pawan Khera