Supreme Court Denies Relief to Congress Leader Pawan Khera in Assam CM Allegation Case

The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a plea from Congress leader Pawan Khera seeking protection from possible coercive action until April 20, in a case filed against him for making allegations concerning Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife.

The Court advised Khera to approach a court of competent jurisdiction in Assam for anticipatory bail. On April 5, during a press conference, Khera accused the CM's wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, of possessing multiple passports and undisclosed foreign properties, which were not listed in Sarma's election affidavit for the April 9 Assembly elections in Assam. The Chief Minister and his wife denied these as false accusations.

A bench consisting of Justices J K Maheshwari and Atul S Chandurkar considered submissions from senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Khera, indicating that unfavorable remarks from top courts should be disregarded by the Assam court hearing Khera’s application. Subsequently, the Supreme Court suspended an earlier Telangana High Court order that granted Khera one-week transit anticipatory bail in the case. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta asserted that the case lacked territorial jurisdiction and criticized Khera's appeal to the Telangana High Court.