"Am I A Terrorist?" Another Court Setback For Congress' Pawan Khera

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to vacate its stay on the Telangana High Court's grant of transit bail for Congress leader Pawan Khera, who faces a case in Guwahati over remarks against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma.

The ruling by a bench of Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Atul S Chandurkar leaves Khera open to arrest by Assam Police.

However, the court also gave Khera the liberty to immediately file an anticipatory bail plea in the Guwahati High Court, while also asking that forum not to be influenced by this hearing.

"The (Guwahati) court should decide on bail application strictly on merits of the case," it said, also reprimanding Khera for submitting incorrect documents, i.e., an incorrect Aadhaar.

But the court declined a request for protection till Tuesday; appearing for Khera, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the Guwahati High Court plea will be filed Monday.

When the request was rejected Singhvi lamented, "Am I (Khera) a terrorist?"

Singhvi had earlier argued that Wednesday's order had been ex-parte; the Supreme Court had then stayed a Telangana High Court order granting one-week anticipatory transit bail to Khera.

READ | Setback For Pawan Khera, Top Court Stays High Court's Transit Bail Order

In this hearing Khera sought the withdrawal of that order.

On April 10 the High Court granted Khera a week's transit anticipatory bail; Justice K Sujana cited Supreme Court rulings to grant limited protection despite the case being filed in Assam.

The judge also noted Khera demonstrated reasonable apprehension of arrest, particularly after search-and-seizure operations at his Delhi residence by Assam and Delhi Police.

READ | Khera Gets Pre-Arrest Bail In Case Over Remarks On Himanta Sarma's Wife

The court emphasised then that the relief was temporary, intended to allow Khera to approach the competent court in Assam for regular anticipatory bail within seven days.

But Assam Police then approached the Supreme Court against this decision.

The case follows an April 4 presser in which Khera alleged the Chief Minister's wife held passports from three countries. He also accused Sarma of involvement in illegal activities.

He had alleged that the Chief Minister's wife not only holds three passports, but also owns undisclosed luxury properties in Dubai that are registered to a company in a US state.

The Sarma family has strongly denied these claims, terming the documents "AI-generated fabrications" circulated by Pakistani social media groups.

A complaint was subsequently lodged with Guwahati Police.