Supreme Court reserves verdict on Pawan Khera's anticipatory bail plea in Assam case

Of all the sections invoked against the Congress leader, some are bailable while others do not require his arrest, apex court told.

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on a plea of Congress leader Pawan Khera seeking anticipatory bail in a case registered against him related to allegations that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife possessed multiple passports and undisclosed properties abroad.

A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and A S Chandurkar reserved its decision on the plea after the Congress leader submitted that if he doesn't get anticipatory bail in a registered case against him, then the very purpose of pre-arrest bail is gone.

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Khera, said the allegations against him are a matter of trial and it was not necessary to humiliate him by arrest.

He submitted that out of the total sections invoked against him, some are bailable while others do not require his arrest.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Assam government, opposed the plea and said Khera showed fake and doctored copies of passports of the Chief Minister's wife.

He said Khera had been absconding and releasing videos, and all the allegations about the Chief Minister's wife holding multiple citizenships are false.

Khera has challenged the April 24 order of the Gauhati High Court refusing to grant him anticipatory bail.

Following the allegations, the Chief Minister's wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, filed criminal cases against Khera and others at the Guwahati Crime Branch police station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The Telangana High Court had earlier granted Khera a seven-day transit anticipatory bail, but the Assam police moved the Supreme Court against it.

The apex court passed an interim order to stay the grant of anticipatory transit bail and asked Khera to approach the Gauhati High Court.

(With PTI inputs)