SC halts interim relief granted to Pawan Khera; issues notice on Assam govt’s plea

The Supreme Court stayed the Telangana High Court’s transit anticipatory bail granted to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a defamation case linked to Assam Chief Minister’s wife. Khera may now seek relief from Assam courts

New Delhi: In a setback to Congress leader Pawan Khera, the Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the Telangana High Court order granting him transit anticipatory bail in the criminal case registered over his alleged defamatory remarks against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma.

A Bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and NV Anjaria passed the interim order while issuing notice on the Assam government’s Special Leave Petition challenging the April 10 order of the Telangana High Court.

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“Issue notice. In the meantime, operation of the impugned order shall remain stayed,” the apex court directed.

The order effectively removes the interim protection from arrest earlier granted to Khera. However, the Justice Maheshwari-led Bench clarified that Khera would be at liberty to seek anticipatory bail from the jurisdictional court in Assam, where the FIR has been registered.

Appearing for the Assam government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the Telangana High Court lacked territorial jurisdiction to entertain Khera’s plea for transit anticipatory bail.

“The offence was committed in Assam, and FIR is registered in Assam. There is a patent lack of territorial jurisdiction,” SG Mehta submitted. He further contended that Khera’s move to approach the Telangana High Court amounted to “forum choosing” and described it as an abuse of law, highlighting that even the Aadhaar card of a family member reflected a Delhi address.

During the hearing, the Justice Maheshwari-led Bench also noted that Khera had moved a further application before the top court seeking an extension of the interim protection by three weeks.

The Assam government had approached the Supreme Court challenging the Telangana High Court’s April 10 order by which transit anticipatory bail was granted to Khera for one week to enable him to approach the competent court for regular bail in connection with the FIR lodged by Assam Police.

Khera had approached the Telangana High Court seeking transit anticipatory bail after Assam Police registered a case against him for allegedly making defamatory and malicious allegations against Riniki Bhuyan Sarma.

Granting relief, a single-judge Bench of Justice K. Sujana had directed that the Congress leader be released on anticipatory bail for one week in the event of arrest.

During the hearing before the Telangana High Court, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Khera, had argued that the FIR was a product of political vendetta and that the Congress leader was being targeted for questioning the Assam Chief Minister and his family.

He had contended that the allegations, even if assumed to be incorrect, would at best constitute defamation and not warrant arrest.

Opposing the plea, Assam Advocate General Devajit Saikia had questioned the maintainability of the petition before the Telangana High Court, arguing that Khera, being a resident of Delhi, had no compelling reason to seek relief outside Assam.

The Assam Police have booked Khera under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including charges of defamation, forgery and criminal conspiracy, following his allegations that Riniki Bhuyan Sarma possessed multiple foreign passports, undeclared luxury properties in Dubai, and shell companies in the United States.