The Supreme Court has granted anticipatory bail for Congress leader Pawan Khera in a case involving alleged forgery and defamation related to the purportedly false accusations made against Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Atul S Chandurkar heard arguments presented by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi on behalf of Khera and rebuttals from solicitor general Tushar Mehta representing the Assam government before reserving the judgement.
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The senior advocate, Singhavi, said, "Dr BR Ambedkar would turn over in his grave if he had imagined a constitutional functionary behaving like a 'constitutional cowboy' or a 'constitutional Rambo'."
"Interrogation is available; there is no flight risk. The question is the necessity of arrest. Why is it necessary to humiliate by custodial arrest?" he said.
Singhvi fiercely condemned remarks linked to Assam's Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, contending that he is behaving like a constitutional cowboy. He justified that, Khera's custodial arrest was unwarranted for a defamation issue, especially since his client poses no risk of flight.
Solicitor General Mehta argued that Khera's case entails alleged fabrication of official documents and that the inquiry has begun to uncover these documents as counterfeit. He emphasised the necessity for a comprehensive investigation to ascertain who fabricated components like passport stamps, QR codes, and other authentic identifiers.
FIR filed against Khera
The FIR filed against Khera was initiated by Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, following Khera's claims during a press conference that she possessed several foreign passports and unreported overseas assets. Previously, the Supreme Court had refused to extend the transit anticipatory bail that the Telangana High Court granted Khera, instructing him to seek relief from the appropriate court in Assam. Nonetheless, it made it clear that its prior remarks would not influence the jurisdictional court's assessment of his request.
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