The Supreme Court on Friday refused to extend anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in the case against him in Assam for leveling allegations against Prime Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, that she holds foreign passports.
Khaira is seeking an extension till the hearing in the Guwahati High Court
Khera filed an application against the court’s order on Wednesday staying the April 10 Telangana High Court ruling that granted him anticipatory bail for one week. He said his bail application filed before his arrest is expected to be heard in the Guwahati High Court on Monday. Khaira requested an extension of the anticipatory bail until Tuesday.
“Our order was passed on April 15 [Wednesday]. Instead of moving another request here, why not move it there? asked a bench of Justices GK Maheshwari and AS Chandorkar.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared for Khaira, cited the Supreme Court’s observation on Wednesday that his client had submitted a “fake and fabricated” Aadhaar card with his bail application in the high court and said the document was submitted in a hurry.
He added that it was replaced with the correct document during the session. Singhvi said the court was not informed of this fact.
The Center opposes the extension
Singhvi said any observation from the Supreme Court should not affect the hearing on the bail application. “This court has been misled by oppression. It has made a small mistake by submitting a different document and this observation made by the court will be binding on any court that decides anticipatory bail,” Singhvi said.
The bench commented: “A small mistake? You cannot present a forged and fabricated document. We do not agree with them [Assam police] They have issued an order to mislead the court.”
The Authority confirmed that when an application for anticipatory bail is submitted before the competent court, it is not affected by orders to grant or suspend transit bail.
Attorney General Tushar Mehta, who represented the Assam Police, opposed Khaira’s attempt to prolong anticipatory bail. Mehta said nothing was preventing Khaira from approaching the district court in Assam, which opens on Friday.
The Assam Police appealed the Supreme Court’s order, saying that Khaira approached the Supreme Court on the basis of “forged” documents. She said that the alleged crime, namely the press conference in which Khaira made the accusations, took place in Assam, and the case was registered in Assam. Assam Police said Khaira chose to move the Telangana High Court to seek anticipatory bail. She added that Kaira’s Aadhaar card had his residential address in New Delhi.
Khaira said that his wife resides in Hyderabad and contested the Assembly elections there. “This is basically a defamation charge, and just because I upset the Prime Minister, 100 policemen were sent to Delhi.”
background
The dispute between Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Pawan Khera began after Khera made statements in a press interview.
He claimed that Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, has three active foreign passports and several undisclosed assets in the US.
Sarma subsequently lodged an FIR and the authorities initiated an investigation based on the complaint. Assam Police raided Khera’s residence in Delhi while the Congress leader was away.
Khera moved the Telangana High Court seeking anticipatory bail, arguing that he needed protection to approach the relevant court in Assam. The Supreme Court granted him interim relief, allowing him limited protection while ordering him to approach the Assam Judicial Court for regular bail.
The Himata Sarma government has challenged this order in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court intervened and stayed the bail order of the Telangana High Court.
