Congress leader Pawan Khera on Monday moved the Gauhati High Court seeking anticipatory bail in connection with the defamation case filed by Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Reneke filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Khaira over his allegations on April 5 that she holds passports issued by the UAE and Egypt, owns undisclosed luxury properties in Dubai and a company in the US. Both Himanta and Reneke denied the allegations.
The Guwahati Crime Branch police station has registered a case under several sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) including false statement in relation to elections, cheating, forgery of valuable guarantees or will, forgery of public record, use of forged documents as real and intentional insult with intent to create breach of peace, and defamation.
A police team also conducted searches at his residence in Delhi on April 7.
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Khera then approached the Telangana High Court and was granted anticipatory bail on April 10.
However, the Assam Police challenged the order in the Supreme Court, which stayed the earlier grant of bail to the arrest on April 15. Khaira then approached the Supreme Court seeking transit bail, which allowed him to travel to Guwahati without risking arrest. But the Supreme Court rejected the petition on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Assam Police sought a non-bailable warrant against him on Saturday from the Kamrup Metropolitan District Chief Magistrate Court. The court however. Petition rejected.
The investigating officer’s (IO) case for seeking a non-bailable warrant is “entirely based on assumptions and conjectures, and is not supported by any material on record,” a PTI report said on Sunday.
“Further, since the present case is cognizable and the offense is non-bailable, the I/O already has the power to effect arrest under Section 35 of BNSS, if it deems it necessary for the purposes of investigation, as per the guidelines laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” the PTI report said, citing the order.
On Monday, a legal team from the Assam Congress filed a petition on behalf of Khera in the Gauhati High Court. The petition has been registered on the HC website and has been listed for hearing on Tuesday.
