New Delhi: The Congress is backing its communications chief Pawan Khera as he moves to the Supreme Court after the Gauhati High Court refused to grant him anticipatory bail on Friday, in the case linked to an FIR lodged by Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, wife of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, said that the party is confident of receiving relief from the apex court over “threat, intimidation, and harassment.”
“The entire Indian National Congress stands solidly in solidarity with Pawan Khera, the Chairman of its Media and Publicity Department. The verdict of the Guwahati High Court is in the process of being challenged in the Supreme Court. We are confident that justice will prevail over the politics of threat, intimidation, and harassment,” Ramesh posted, as reported by ANI.
Justice Parthivjyoti Saikia of the Gauhati High Court had observed on Friday that the case goes beyond the realm of simple defamation and discloses a prima facie offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and refused
to grant Khera anticipatory bail.
Custodial interrogation is necessary to uncover the origin and authenticity of the documents relied upon by him and to identify the persons involved in their procurement, the Court held.
It noted that the allegations made by Khera during a press conference in Guwahati regarding Riniki Bhuyan Sharma were based on documents which, according to the investigation so far, appear to be false.
Khera has not substantiated his claims “beyond doubt” and has failed to demonstrate that the documents relied upon by him are genuine, the Court held.
In a significant observation, the Court said that the matter “cannot be termed as a case of defamation simpliciter,” as there are sufficient materials to indicate a prima facie offence under Section 339 of the BNS. It further noted that after the FIR was lodged, the petitioner did not assert that the documents were falsely attributed to him by the police, which lends weight to the prosecution’s case at this stage.
The court observed that an “innocent lady has been dragged into the controversy,” and the claims made against her, such as holding multiple foreign passports and operating a foreign company with large investments, remain unproven.
Sharma lodged the FIR following Khera’s press conference on April 5 in Guwahati, where he made allegations regarding her alleged foreign citizenship and overseas financial interests. She has categorically denied the claims.