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.
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.
Bureau Report
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