SC to hear Assam govt's plea against anticipatory bail to Pawan Khera on Wednesday

The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear the Assam government’s petition challenging the Telangana High Court’s order granting one-week transit anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a case registered against him in Assam for his alleged defamatory remarks against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife.

The Assam government’s petition against the April 10 order of the Telangana High Court is listed for hearing before a Bench of Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Atul S Chandurkar on April 15.

The Telangana High Court had granted interim protection from arrest to Khera to enable him to move the competent court in Assam and seek regular bail in the case.

During the hearing before the Telangana High Court, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Khera, had argued that the FIR was a product of political vendetta and that the Congress leader was being targeted for questioning the Assam Chief Minister and his family. The allegations, even if assumed to be incorrect, would at best constitute defamation and not warrant arrest, he had argued.

Assam Advocate General Devajit Saikia had questioned the maintainability of Khera’s petition before the Telangana High Court on the grounds that being a resident of Delhi, the Congress leader had no compelling reason to seek relief in Telangana.