Supreme Court grants anticipatory bail to Pawan Khera in case linked to Assam CM’s wife

The Supreme Court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a criminal case arising from allegations made against Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma. The case was registered by Assam Police following a complaint over remarks made by Khera during a press interaction. The court also directed him to cooperate fully with the investigation and appear before authorities whenever summoned.

A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and A S Chandurkar observed that the allegations and counter-allegations in the matter appeared to have a political dimension. The court said custodial interrogation was not necessary at this stage and emphasized that personal liberty must be protected unless strong justification exists for arrest.

The Supreme Court set aside the Gauhati High Court order that had earlier denied anticipatory bail to Khera, terming him a “flight risk”. The High Court had also cited the seriousness of charges, including cheating and forgery, and had held that custodial interrogation was required to verify the source of documents and allegations made by the Congress leader.

During the hearing, the court recorded arguments from both sides. Khera’s counsel argued that the case primarily involved defamation-related allegations that did not require arrest, while the prosecution maintained that custodial interrogation was necessary to trace the origin of documents and verify claims involving alleged forged materials.

The Supreme Court imposed conditions restricting Khera from leaving the country without permission and barred him from influencing evidence or witnesses. It also allowed lower courts to impose additional conditions if required, while clarifying that observations made during the bail hearing should not affect the trial proceedings.