NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its judgement on an anticipatory bail plea filed by Congress leader Pawan Khera regarding allegations involving the family of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The case stems from claims made by Khera that the Chief Minister’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, possessed multiple passports and undisclosed foreign assets.
A bench comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar concluded the hearing after Khera’s counsel argued that denying pre-arrest bail in this instance would defeat the legal remedy’s fundamental purpose. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the Congress leader, maintained that the allegations are a matter for trial and argued that it was unnecessary to humiliate his client through arrest. Singhvi further submitted that several of the sections invoked against Khera are bailable, while others do not mandate immediate custody.
Opposing the plea, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Assam government, alleged that Khera had circulated “fake and doctored” copies of passports. Mehta claimed that Khera has been absconding while continuing to release videos, asserting that the allegations regarding multiple citizenships are entirely false.
The legal battle reached the apex court after Khera challenged an April 24 order from the Gauhati High Court, which had previously refused to grant him protection from arrest. The proceedings follow criminal cases registered by Riniki Bhuyan Sharma at the Guwahati Crime Branch under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The procedural history of the case is notably complex. While the Telangana High Court had initially granted Khera a seven-day transit anticipatory bail, PTI reported that the Assam Police successfully moved the Supreme Court against that decision. The apex court subsequently stayed the transit bail and directed Khera to seek relief from the Gauhati High Court, leading to the current appeal against the High Court’s refusal.
