SC to hear plea of Assam Government against anticipatory bail to Cong leader Pawan Khera today
The Supreme Court is scheduled to consider on Wednesday a plea of the Assam Government against the Telangana High Court order granting one-week transit anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a case registered against him for levelling allegations against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife.
On April 10, the High Court granted one-week transit anticipatory bail to Khera with certain conditions and gave him a week to file an application before the court concerned.
The State Government’s plea was filed on Sunday through advocate Shuvodeep Roy.
A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar will hear the matter on April 15.
The Congress leader had, on April 5, in a press conference, alleged that the Assam CM’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, has multiple passports and foreign property, which were not declared in the chief minister’s election affidavit for the April 9 Assembly polls in that state. The Sarmas had rejected the allegations as false and fabricated.
The case against Khera was registered at the Guwahati Crime Branch Police Station under several sections of the BNS sections, including 175 (false statement in connection with an election), 35 (Right of private defence of the body and of property) and 318 (cheating).
“Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, this court is of the view that the petitioner has made out a case for the grant of limited transit anticipatory bail, as his apprehension of arrest appears to be reasonable and supported by material on record,” the High Court had said in its order.
The conditions were that the petitioner shall be released on bail in the event of arrest on his executing a personal bond for `one lakh with two sureties for the like sum each, cooperate with the investigation and make himself available for interrogation as and when required by the Investigating Officer and that he shall not leave the country without prior permission of the competent Court.
The conditions further include that the petitioner shall, within the stipulated period, approach the competent jurisdictional court in Assam and seek appropriate relief and he, being a public figure, shall exercise restraint in making any further public statements in relation to the subject matter of the present case, which may prejudice the investigation, the order said.
Khera, who approached the High Court on April 7, showed his residential address in Hyderabad. He had requested the High Court to release him on bail in the event of his arrest.
