Congress leader Pawan Khera has approached the Supreme Court of India after the Gauhati High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea in a case linked to his allegations against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife.
Court records show the matter is yet to be listed before a bench.
On April 24, Justice Parthiv Jyoti Saikia of the Gauhati High Court dismissed Khera’s plea. The move came after the Supreme Court earlier directed him to seek relief from the high court.
Khera, the chairman of AICC's Media and Publicity, had alleged in two press conferences held in New Delhi and Guwahati on April 5 that the chief minister's wife possesses three passports of UAE, Egypt and Antigua and Barbuda—two properties in Dubai and assets in shell companies.
Subsequently, she filed criminal cases against Khera and others at the Guwahati Crime Branch police station under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including 175 (false statement in connection with an election), 35, 36, 318 (cheating), 338, (forgery of valuable will, security etc.), 337 (forgery of record of court or of public register, etc.), 340 (forged document or electronic record and using it as genuine), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and 356 (defamation).
Assam Police had subsequently visited Khera's residence in Delhi on April 7, but he was not present there, and he later filed for transit anticipatory bail at the Telangana High Court, which was granted to him for a week.
The Assam Police then moved the Supreme Court against the Telangana High Court's order, and on April 15, the highest Court in an interim order stayed the grant of anticipatory transit bail.
Khera again appealed in the Supreme Court to vacate the stay it imposed on the transit anticipatory bail granted to him by the Telangana High Court, but it was turned down on Friday, and he was instead asked to approach the Gauhati High Court.
Meanwhile, a local court in Guwahati rejected the Assam Police’s plea for issuance of non-bailable warrant (NBW) of arrest against the Congress leader.
The Congress on Saturday came out in solidarity with its leader Pawan Khera and said the verdict of the Gauhati High Court. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh expressed confidence that justice will prevail over the politics of threat and intimidation.
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