New Delhi: In a second setback within two days, the Supreme Court Friday refused to grant Congress leader Pawan Khera protection from arrest and declined his plea to extend the duration of transit anticipatory bail in connection with the FIR lodged in Assam over his alleged defamatory remarks against the wife of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
A Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar declined to grant any interim protection from arrest and asked Pawan Khera to approach the competent court in Assam for anticipatory bail, refusing his request to extend relief till Tuesday.
“The respondent is at liberty to move the (Guwahati) High Court… The application shall be considered on its own merits,” the apex court ordered, adding that the Assam court “shall not be influenced” either by the grant of transit bail by the Telangana High Court or by the Supreme Court’s earlier order staying it.
The Justice Maheshwari-led Bench also clarified that if the jurisdictional court is not functioning, a request can be made for urgent listing, which “will be considered in accordance with law”.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Khera, urged the top court to extend protection till Tuesday, arguing that the earlier order staying transit bail was passed ex parte and that the one-week protection granted by the Telangana High Court was expiring on Friday. “Your lordships have been persuaded to pass an ex parte order… I am filing on Monday (in Assam). Your lordships can’t protect me till Tuesday? Am I a hardened criminal?” Singhvi submitted, alleging that the top court had been misled and describing the filing of an incorrect document as a “small error”.
However, the Supreme Court was not inclined to accept the plea and questioned the conduct of the petitioner.
Referring to the use of an Aadhaar card to invoke Telangana High Court’s jurisdiction, the Justice Maheshwari-led Bench observed: “You say you have been fair… we are saying it is not.”
When Singhvi contended that the incorrect document was rectified during the hearing before the Telangana High Court, the Justice Maheshwari-led Bench remarked that such a correction could not cure the initial filing based on allegedly fabricated material.
“How can you say this is a small mistake?” the top court asked, declining interim relief and asking Khera to immediately avail remedies before the Assam court.
Earlier, Wednesday, the Supreme Court had stayed the Telangana High Court’s order granting Khera one-week transit anticipatory bail, observing that his petition appeared to be based on “fabricated documents” to create jurisdiction.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had argued that the move amounted to “forum choosing” since the alleged offence and FIR were both in Guwahati.
While issuing notice on the Assam government’s plea, the top court had clarified that Khera remained free to seek anticipatory bail from the competent court in Assam and that such a plea would be decided independently, without being influenced by its interim order.
The Telangana High Court had, on April 10, granted Khera transit anticipatory bail for a period of one week to enable him to approach the appropriate court in Assam in connection with the FIR registered over his alleged defamatory remarks against Riniki Bhuyan Sarma.
The Assam Police have booked Khera under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including charges of defamation, forgery and criminal conspiracy, following his allegations that Riniki Bhuyan Sarma possessed multiple foreign passports, undeclared luxury properties in Dubai, and shell companies in the United States.
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