Congress leader Pawan Khera on Monday moved the Gauhati High Court seeking anticipatory bail in connection with an FIR lodged in Assam over his alleged defamatory remarks against the wife of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. As per the case status available on the Gauhati High Court website, the petition was filed on April 20 and was registered by the registry earlier in the day for listing before an appropriate Bench.
The development comes days after the Supreme Court declined to grant Khera protection from arrest and refused to extend the duration of his transit anticipatory bail. A Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar had, in its April 17 order, reiterated that Khera was “at liberty to apply immediately before the Court concerned” in Assam and clarified that any such plea “shall not be adversely influenced” by its earlier order staying the transit bail granted by the Telangana High Court.
The apex court had said that the competent court “shall decide the anticipatory bail application… on its own merits and on the basis of the material placed before it.” Earlier, on April 15, the Supreme Court had stayed the Telangana High Court’s order granting Khera transit anticipatory bail, observing that the plea appeared to rely on “fabricated documents” to invoke jurisdiction.
The interim protection from arrest consequently stood vacated. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Khera, had urged the apex court to extend protection, arguing that the earlier order was passed ex parte and that the Telangana High Court had granted him one-week protection to approach the appropriate forum.
However, the subsequent plea was rejected. The case stems from an FIR registered by Assam Police under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including charges of defamation, forgery and criminal conspiracy, over allegations made by Khera against Riniki Bhuyan Sarma. He alleged that Sarma possessed multiple foreign passports, undeclared luxury properties in Dubai, and shell companies in the United States.