Khera denied pre-arrest bail

E-PaperSubscribeSubscribeEnjoy unlimited accessSubscribe Now! Get features like Silchar: The Gauhati High Court on Friday rejected the anticipatory bail petition of Congress leader Pawan Khera in connection with his allegations that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, possessed multiple passports and undisclosed properties abroad. Khera denied pre-arrest bailThe single bench of Justice Parthiv Jyoti Saikia, who had reserved the order on April 21 after hearing arguments from both sides, rejected Khera’s application filed on Monday after the Congress leader was asked by the Supreme Court to approach the Gauhati High Court. Assam Advocate General Devajit Saikia confirmed the development. The judge, in his order, pointed out that the petitioner had claimed that the accusations he had brought are based on certain documents, which he has in his possession, while the police claimed those documents were already proven to be false. After the case was filed, the petitioner had not made any assertion that the police had made fabricated claims, the court said. ‘’The claim of the Advocate General that the case of the petitioner falls within the category of the possession of forged documents or electronic records (Section 339 of the BNS) seems to have force in it,’’ the judge said. ‘’If Khera had raised those accusations against the chief minister, the matter would have been a political rhetoric. But in order to gain political mileage, he has dragged an innocent lady into the controversy,” the order stated. Custodial interrogation is necessary in this case to find out who his associates are, who had collected those documents for him and how and from where they had collected those documents, the court said. The court held that the petitioner does not deserve the privilege of anticipatory bail. Meanwhile, a lawyer representing Khera on Friday urged the Gauhati High Court Chief Justice to recall the order rejecting the politician’s anticipatory bail plea, claiming that the state’s Advocate General represented the complainant, the chief minister’s wife, in the case violating norms of the Bar Council of India. The lawyer Reetam Singh urged Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar to intervene to prevent a “serious miscarriage of justice” due to the alleged suppression of facts and conflict of interest by the Advocate General Devajit Saikia. The high court had heard Khera’s petition on Tuesday and reserved its order. A team of advocates, led by Abhisekh Manu Singhvi, had argued on Khera’s behalf while the Assam Advocate General Devajit Saikia had opposed the bail petition.