Gauhati: Congress leader Pawan Khera moved the Gauhati High Court seeking anticipatory bail in a case recently registered against him by the Crime Branch of the Assam Police in Guwahati, related to allegations against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, reported Bar & Bench.
The plea was registered earlier in the day by the High Court registry for listing before a bench. A criminal case alleging defamation, forgery, and criminal conspiracy was recently filed against Khera.
For the unversed, the Telangana High Court on 10 April granted one week’s transit anticipatory bail to Khera and permitted him to approach the concerned court. The anticipatory bail plea was filed in Hyderabad, where Khera is stated to have a residence.
Following this, the Assam Police moved the Supreme Court against the order, and on 15 April, the Supreme Court in its interim order stayed the grant of transit anticipatory bail by the Telangana High Court.
The SC bench said that if Khera applies for anticipatory bail in the court having jurisdiction in Assam, the interim order of the Supreme Court will not adversely affect the consideration of such an application.
The case was filed after his recent claims that CM Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, holds multiple foreign passports and undisclosed assets abroad.
The top court clarified that the Assam court would decide Khera’s application independently, based on the material on record and on its own merits.
What Khera claimed?
On 5 April, at a press conference, Khera alleged that the Chief Minister’s wife held passports from three countries. He also alleged that she owns undisclosed luxury properties in Dubai, registered to a company in a US state.
