Supreme Court refuses transit bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in defamation case
PTC News Desk: The Supreme Court has refused to extend the transit bail of Congress leader Pawan Khera, who is facing a police case in Guwahati over his remarks about Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, especially regarding her passport and family property.
A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Atul S Chandurkar denied his request to extend bail till Tuesday. During the hearing, his lawyer Abhishek Singhvi objected to the decision.
The court told Khera to instead apply for anticipatory bail in the Guwahati High Court and said that the High Court should decide the matter independently. It also pulled up Khera for submitting incorrect documents, including a wrong Aadhaar.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had stayed a Telangana High Court order that had given Khera one week of transit anticipatory bail on April 10. The High Court had granted this relief noting that Khera feared arrest, especially after police searches at his Delhi home.
The case began after an April 4 press conference in which Khera alleged that the Chief Minister’s wife held passports from three countries and accused Sarma of illegal activities. A complaint was later filed with the Guwahati Police.
- With inputs from agencies
