Congress To Challenge Gauhati HC Order Denying Relief To Pawan Khera In Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Congress said on Saturday that it will challenge the Gauhati High Court order rejecting anticipatory bail to party leader Pawan Khera before the Supreme Court.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said that the party stands “solidly in solidarity” with Khera and expressed confidence that relief would be granted and “justice would prevail over the politics of threat, intimidation, and harassment”.

“The entire Indian National Congress stands solidly in solidarity with Pawan Khera, the Chairman of its Media and Publicity Department. The verdict of the Guwahati High Court is in the process of being challenged in the Supreme Court. We are confident that justice will prevail over the politics of threat, intimidation, and harassment,” Ramesh said in a post on social media platform X.

The reaction comes a day after the Gauhati High Court rejected Khera’s plea for anticipatory bail in connection with an FIR lodged in Assam over his alleged remarks against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma.

A single-judge bench of Justice Parthivjyoti Saikia held that Khera “does not deserve to be given the privilege of anticipatory bail” and said the case could not be treated as one of “defamation simpliciter”.

“The case cannot be termed as a case of defamation simpliciter. There are materials for a prima facie case under Section 339 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023,” Justice Saikia said, while rejecting Khera’s anticipatory bail plea.

The case stems from statements made by Khera during a press conference in Guwahati earlier this month, where he alleged that Riniki Bhuyan Sharma held multiple foreign passports and had financial dealings abroad.

Following the remarks, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma filed an FIR denying the allegations and asserting that she is solely an Indian citizen.

Appearing for Khera, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the statements were part of “political rhetoric” made in the context of electoral discourse and, at best, could amount to defamation.

He also alleged political vendetta and apprehended harassment in the event of arrest.

However, opposing the plea, Assam Advocate General Devajit Lon Saikia said that the allegations were based on documents later found to be “false”, attracting serious offences beyond mere defamation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

In its order, the Guwahati High Court underlined the need for custodial interrogation to ascertain the source and authenticity of the documents relied upon by Khera.

“This Court is of the opinion that custodial interrogation is necessary… to find out who are the associates of Mr. Khera, who had collected those documents for him and how and from where they had collected those documents,” the High Court order said.

Rejecting the argument of political motivation, Gauhati High Court said that the accusations appeared to stem from a motive of “furthering the ends of justice” and found no material to suggest that the proceedings were intended to “injure and humiliate” the petitioner.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had refused to grant Khera protection from arrest and declined to extend his transit anticipatory bail, directing him to approach the competent court in Assam.

(IANS)