Supreme Court Deliberates on Pawan Khera's Anticipatory Bail Request
Supreme Court's Consideration of Anticipatory Bail
Pawan Khera (Photo - Meta)
New Delhi, Apr 30: The Supreme Court has reserved its ruling on Congress leader Pawan Khera's request for anticipatory bail in connection with allegations involving Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife, who is accused of holding multiple passports and undisclosed foreign assets.
A bench comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar made this decision after Khera argued that denying him anticipatory bail would undermine the very purpose of such a legal provision.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Khera, contended that the accusations against him should be addressed in court and that arresting him would be unnecessary and humiliating.
Singhvi pointed out that some of the charges against Khera are bailable, while others do not warrant his arrest.
On the other hand, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Assam government, opposed Khera's plea, claiming that he had presented falsified and altered passport documents belonging to the chief minister's wife.
Mehta further alleged that Khera has been evading authorities while disseminating videos, asserting that the claims regarding the chief minister's wife possessing multiple citizenships are unfounded.
Khera is contesting an April 24 ruling from the Gauhati High Court that denied him anticipatory bail.
In response to the allegations, the chief minister's wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, has initiated criminal proceedings against Khera and others at the Guwahati Crime Branch police station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Previously, the Telangana High Court had granted Khera a seven-day transit anticipatory bail, but the Assam Police subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court against this decision.
The Supreme Court issued an interim order to suspend the anticipatory transit bail and directed Khera to seek relief from the Gauhati High Court.