Himanta wife passport row: Why SC stayed Pawan Khera’s transit anticipatory bail | India News
New Delhi: In a blow to Congress leader Pawan Khera, the Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed its order granting him transit anticipatory bail for one week in connection with the complaint filed against the Telangana High Court. Assam Riniki Bhuiyan Sharma, wife of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma.The apex court, however, said that the Congress leader can seek anticipatory bail from a judicial court meaning a court in Assam where the FIR was registered.
The top court’s intervention came after the Assam government challenged the High Court’s April 10 order, arguing that Khera had approached the wrong forum for relief.Appearing for the Assam Police, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta questioned the maintainability of the petition before the Telangana High Court, which he called a “patent lack of territorial jurisdiction”. He submitted that the FIR was registered in Assam and did not explain why Khera could not seek anticipatory bail there.Mehta also noted that Khera had sought anticipatory bail in Telangana without clearly establishing his presence in the state, adding that “mere possession of some property” could not confer jurisdiction.He told the bench that it was a “complete abuse of process” and a case of “selection of forum”.During the hearing, Justice Dinesh Maheshwari noted that Khera had referred to his wife’s residence in Hyderabad as a field. However, the Solicitor General countered that even Khera’s Aadhaar records reflected a Delhi address and occasional travel or property ownership could not justify the jurisdiction, LiveLaw reported.The Telangana High Court had earlier granted limited transit anticipatory bail to Khera for one week. The court observed that his apprehension of arrest appeared to be “reasonable and supported by material on record”, while imposing conditions including cooperation with the investigation and refraining from public statements that could prejudice the investigation.The Assam government challenged the order, claiming that Khera had not shown any compelling reason to bypass the Assam court, where the case was registered.The FIR, lodged at the Guwahati Crime Branch police station, stems from Khera’s April 5 allegations that Riniki Bhuiyan Sarma has multiple foreign passports and undeclared foreign assets, claims the Sarma family rejected as “false and fabricated”.The case has been registered under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, which include sections related to making false statements and cheating in connection with elections.
