In a setback to Pawan Khera, Gauhati High Court on Friday rejected Congress leader's anticipatory bail petition in connection with an FIR lodged by the wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The Congress spokesperson had moved the Gauhati High Court on Monday seeking anticipatory bail in connection with the case registered against him by the CM's wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma for alleging that she possessed multiple passports and undisclosed properties abroad.
Khera, in his petition, submitted that anticipatory bail should be granted to him as the accusations appear to be ''motivated, and appear to have been made to serve some ulterior motive/political vendetta''.
He claimed that there was no ground for arresting him and the respondent is acting in haste, while the ''arbitrary and coercive conduct'' of the police authorities violates his Fundamental Rights.
Khera also pointed out that the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kamrup (M) has also opined that no grounds for issuance of Non-Bailable Warrants of Arrest were made out from the records, and that the grounds for issuance of NBWAs were based on conjectures and speculations.
The Case And Timeline
Khera, the chairman of AICC's Media and Publicity, had alleged in two press conferences held in New Delhi and Guwahati on April 5 that the chief minister's wife possesses three passports of UAE, Egypt and Antigua and Barbuda—two properties in Dubai and assets in shell companies.
Subsequently, she filed criminal cases against Khera and others at the Guwahati Crime Branch police station under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including 175 (false statement in connection with an election), 35, 36, 318 (cheating), 338, (forgery of valuable will, security etc.), 337 (forgery of record of court or of public register, etc.), 340 (forged document or electronic record and using it as genuine), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and 356 (defamation).
Assam Police had subsequently visited Khera's residence in Delhi on April 7, but he was not present there, and he later filed for transit anticipatory bail at the Telangana High Court, which was granted to him for a week.
The Assam Police then moved the Supreme Court against the Telangana High Court's order, and on April 15, the highest Court in an interim order stayed the grant of anticipatory transit bail.
Khera again appealed in the Supreme Court to vacate the stay it imposed on the transit anticipatory bail granted to him by the Telangana High Court, but it was turned down on Friday, and he was instead asked to approach the Gauhati High Court.
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