Pawan Khera gets SC bail in Assam Police FIR case
What's the story
The Supreme Court has granted anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a case of defamation and forgery filed by the Assam Police. The bench, comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar, overturned the Gauhati High Court's decision denying him bail. The court observed that political rivalry appeared to be a factor in this case, thus necessitating protection for Khera's personal liberty.
Case background
Case filed after Khera made allegations against Sarma's wife
The case against Khera was filed after he alleged at a press conference that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife, Riniki Bhuyan, holds several foreign passports and has undisclosed assets abroad. To question him, the Assam Police had visited Khera's Delhi residence on April 7 but couldn't find him there. He then sought transit anticipatory bail from the Telangana High Court, which granted him a week's relief on April 10.
Legal journey
SC refused to extend Khera's transit bail
However, the Supreme Court stayed the Telangana High Court's April 10 order on an appeal by the Assam government on April 15. On April 17, it refused to extend Khera's transit bail and asked him to approach the Gauhati High Court. In his plea there, Khera argued that the allegations stemmed from statements made during a press conference and were "selectively construed" for criminal proceedings.
Plea rejection
Gauhati HC said this wasn't a simple defamation case
The Gauhati High Court rejected Khera's plea on April 24, saying custodial interrogation was needed to identify those who provided him documents for his allegations. The court observed that if Khera had only targeted the Chief Minister, it would have been political rhetoric, but he involved an "innocent woman" in the controversy. It also said this wasn't a simple defamation case and Khera had yet to prove his claims.