SC grants anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in Assam Police FIR

The case, involving allegations of defamation, forgery, and criminal conspiracy, was filed against Pawan Khera after he claimed at a press conference that Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan, possessed multiple foreign passports and undisclosed overseas assets.

The Supreme Court on April 30 granted anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a defamation and forgery case filed against him by the Assam Police. A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar overturn the Gauhati High Court’s order refusing anticipatory bail.

The top court also held that the circumstances of the case shows the presence of political rivalry, guaranteeing protection of Khera's personal liberty. 

The case, involving allegations of defamation, forgery, and criminal conspiracy, was filed against Pawan Khera after he claimed at a press conference that Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan, possessed multiple foreign passports and undisclosed overseas assets.

On April 7, the Assam Police visited Khera’s residence in Delhi, but he was not present at the time.

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Pawan Khera later moved the Telangana High Court seeking transit anticipatory bail. The Telangana High Court granted him a week’s protection on April 10 to approach the courts in Assam for regular anticipatory bail. However, on April 15, the Supreme Court of India stayed the Telangana High Court’s order following an appeal by the Assam government.

The top court refused to extend the transit bail period on April 17. It directed Khera to approach the Gauhati High Court. 

Pawan Khera subsequently approached the Gauhati High Court. In his petition, he contended that the allegations stemmed from remarks made in a public and political context during a press conference, and argued that these statements had been “selectively interpreted” to initiate criminal proceedings.

Khera further said that the FIR was registered to "satisfy ulterior motive/political vendetta of the complainant", the wife of the Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The High Court later rejected Pawan Khera's plea.

The Gauhati High Court held that custodial interrogation of Pawan Khera was necessary to identify those who had allegedly provided him with the documents used to claim that Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife possessed multiple foreign passports and had links to a company in the United States.

The court observed that had the allegations been limited to the Chief Minister, they might have been viewed as political rhetoric, but he dragged an innocent lady into the controversy. It further stated that the case went beyond simple defamation and noted that Khera had yet to substantiate his claims.

Following this, Khera approached the Supreme Court of India challenging the High Court’s order.