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NEW DELHI: In a setback to Congress leader Pawan Khera, the Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the Telangana high court’s order granting him one-week transit anticipatory bail in connection with allegations against Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma.The top court, however, said that the Congress leader can seek anticipatory bail from jurisdictional court which means from a court in Assam where FIR was registered.
The top court’s intervention came after the Assam government challenged the high court’s April 10 order, arguing that Khera had approached the wrong forum for relief.Appearing for the Assam Police, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta questioned the maintainability of the plea before the Telangana high court, flagging what he called a “patent lack of territorial jurisdiction”. He submitted that the FIR was registered in Assam and Khera had not explained why he could not seek anticipatory bail there.Mehta also pointed out that Khera had sought anticipatory bail in Telangana without clearly establishing his presence in the state, adding that “merely having some property” cannot confer jurisdiction.He told the bench that it was a “complete abuse of process” and a case of “forum choosing”.During the hearing, Justice Dinesh Maheshwari noted that Khera had cited his wife’s residence in Hyderabad as a ground. However, the Solicitor General countered that even Khera’s Aadhaar records reflected a Delhi address, and that occasional travel or property ownership cannot justify jurisdiction, LiveLaw reported.The Telangana high court had earlier granted Khera limited transit anticipatory bail for one week. The court observed that his apprehension of arrest appeared “reasonable and supported by material on record”, while imposing conditions including cooperation with the investigation and restraint from public statements that could prejudice the probe.The Assam government challenged this order, contending that Khera had not demonstrated any compelling reason to bypass courts in Assam, where the case was registered.The FIR, filed at the Guwahati Crime Branch Police Station, stems from Khera’s April 5 allegations that Riniki Bhuyan Sarma possessed multiple foreign passports and undeclared overseas assets, claims that were rejected by the Sarma family as “false and fabricated”.The case has been registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including sections related to making false statements in connection with elections and cheating.
