Supreme Court to hear Assam’s challenge to Pawan Khera’s bail relief today

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear the Assam government’s plea on Wednesday challenging the Telangana High Court’s interim relief to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a criminal case over his alleged defamatory remarks against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma.

The case is listed before Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar, as per the apex court’s causelist.

Assam filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the Telangana High Court’s 10 April order granting Khera one week’s transit anticipatory bail. This protection allows him to seek regular bail from the appropriate court after Assam Police lodged an FIR.

Justice K. Sujana’s single-judge bench directed Khera’s release on anticipatory bail for seven days if arrested. Khera, a Delhi resident, approached the Telangana court amid charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for defamation, forgery, and criminal conspiracy—stemming from claims that Riniki Bhuyan Sarma held multiple foreign passports, undeclared Dubai properties, and US shell companies.

In hearings, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued for Khera that the FIR reflected political vendetta for questioning the Chief Minister’s family, insisting the remarks at worst amounted to defamation unfit for arrest. Assam Advocate General Devajit Saikia countered that the petition was not maintainable outside Assam, given Khera’s Delhi base.

The row has fuelled BJP-Congress clashes ahead of Assam Assembly polls, with Congress accusing the Sarma government of weaponising police against critics. Party leaders backed Khera, urging the Chief Minister’s family to rebut the allegations rather than pursue criminal action.

(Inputs from IANS)