Supreme Court grants anticipatory bail to Pawan Khera

The Supreme Court granted anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a case linked to allegations against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife. The court observed that the matter appeared politically motivated and stressed protection of individual liberty

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has granted anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a case related to allegations made against Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, saying the matter appears to have stemmed from political rivalry.

A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar, in its order uploaded on Friday, granted pre-arrest bail to Khera subject to certain conditions. The court had on Thursday reserved its verdict in the matter.

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Khera has alleged that Sarma’s wife possessed multiple passports and undisclosed properties abroad.

“The right to personal liberty is a cherished fundamental right, and any deprivation thereof must be justified on a higher threshold, particularly where the surrounding circumstances may indicate the presence of political overtones,” the court said.

The appellant (Khera) is directed to be released on anticipatory bail in the event of his arrest at the Crime Branch police station and on such reasonable terms and conditions as may be imposed by the Investigating Officer, it directed.

The top court said it was of the opinion that while adjudicating an application for anticipatory bail, a careful balance must be struck between the State’s interest in ensuring a fair investigation and the individual’s fundamental right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The bench directed Khera to cooperate with the investigation and appear before the police station as and when required. It also directed that he should not influence or tamper with any evidence during the pendency of the investigation or trial in the case.

It directed Khera not to leave India without prior permission from the competent court and said if the trial court deems it fit to impose other conditions, it has the discretion to do so during the trial.

“In this context, the criminal process must be applied with objectivity and circumspection so as to ensure that individual liberty is not imperilled by proceedings that may be coloured by political rivalry. We are further of the opinion that the allegations and counter-allegations, as apparent in the present case, prima facie appear to be politically motivated and seemingly influenced by such rivalry, rather than disclosing a situation warranting custodial interrogation, and the veracity of the allegations can be tested at trial,” it observed.

The bench said it was of the view that in the present case, allegations and counter-allegations had been made by Khera as well as by the husband of the complainant, the Assam Chief Minister.

“At this stage, we are cognisant of the fact that personal liberty of an individual enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India cannot be put in jeopardy lightly. But at the same time, we are also of the view that for any offences as alleged in the FIR, the investigation should be completed with integrity and in full swing with cooperation of the appellant,” it observed.

While allowing Khera’s appeal against the April 24 order of the Gauhati High Court, the bench said, “In our view, the observations made by the high court in the impugned order are not based on correct appreciation of all the material placed on record and appear to be erroneous, particularly in shifting the burden onto the accused.”

The top court said the incident alleged in the FIR occurred on April 6, 2026, before the conclusion of the election campaign for the Assam Assembly elections.

“The appellant, being the representative of a national political party, organised a press conference making some allegations against the complainant, who is the wife of the chief minister of the State. While doing so, three passports were displayed by the appellant alleging that the complainant was holding passports of three countries, out of which two were of Muslim countries. However, the complainant’s husband’s politics is based on hatred against the Muslim community in the State,” the bench had noted about the incident.

It said the prosecution, upon investigation, found that the passports purportedly belonging to the complainant were fake and had been displayed by Khera to defame the wife of the chief minister, intentionally causing harm to their reputation.

The bench said it was true that the documents exhibited by Khera were in the custody of the prosecution and that some preliminary investigation had been conducted.

“However, it primarily appears that merely to gain some political momentum in favour of his party, this statement has been made by the appellant. Albeit, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the chief minister of the State, who is also the husband of the complainant, has made certain unparliamentary remarks against the appellant in various press statements filed before this court,” it noted.

Following the allegations, the CM’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, filed criminal cases against Khera and others at the Guwahati Crime Branch police station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The Telangana High Court had earlier granted Khera a seven-day transit anticipatory bail, but Assam Police moved the Supreme Court against it.

The apex court passed an interim order staying the grant of transit anticipatory bail and asked Khera to approach the Gauhati High Court.