New Delhi, 17 April

In two consecutive legal setbacks, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain Congress leader Pawan Khera's plea seeking protection from arrest till 20 April in a case lodged against him for levelling charges against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife that she possesses multiple passports.

The top court asked Khera to move a court of competent jurisdiction in Assam for anticipatory bail in the case and made clear that the court there will hear his plea without taking note of adverse remarks, if any, made by it and the Telangana High Court.

At a press conference on 5 April, Khera alleged that the Assam Chief Minister's wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, has multiple passports and foreign property, which were not declared in Sarma's affidavit for the 9 April Assembly polls in the State.

Sarma and his wife have rejected the allegations as false and fabricated.

The fresh order assumes significance because a bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Atul S Chandurkar, on 15 April, took note of the Assam government's plea and stayed the Telangana High Court's order granting Khera one-week transit anticipatory bail in the case.

The top court's two successive orders, staying the transit bail granted by the Telangana High Court and refusing to protect Khera from arrest till 20 April, may enable the Assam Police to take coercive measures against the Congress leader.

"Just because I displeased the chief minister, around 100 police personnel are at my Nizammudin residence here," senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing in the court for Khera, said.

This bench was persuaded to pass an ex-parte order, he said, adding that the transit bail granted by the Telangana High Court was expiring on Friday and the Gauhati High Court opens on Monday.

"I want transit bail till Tuesday so I can approach Assam. The Telangana petition was filed in a hurry. In the arguments, it was pointed out and a correct document was filed. My wife is a Telugu and was an MLA candidate in Telangana. Her affidavit was filed on the same day. That is not pointed out," he added.

"Am I a hardened criminal...? I am not a flight risk. Your Lordships have been misled," Singhvi argued, while vehemently seeking protection for a few days for Khera to enable him to approach the Gauhati High Court with the anticipatory bail plea.

After all, the matter pertains to the personal liberty of a person, and there is Article 21 (right to life) of the Constitution, he said.

Justice Maheshwari kept telling Singhvi that Khera must move a jurisdictional court in Assam and seek an early hearing.

"The IA (interim application of Khera) was listed today. We propose to dispose of with an observation that the respondent (Khera) is at liberty to move jurisdictional court," the bench said in the order.

"It is clear that the operation of the impugned order in transit bail was stayed, subject to liberty to the respondent to apply for anticipatory bail in a court having jurisdiction in Assam. When an application seeking anticipatory bail is filed by the respondent before the competent court, such court shall not be influenced by the order granting transit bail or staying transit bail by this court," it said.

The bench said Khera's pre-arrest bail plea "shall be considered on its own merits. In case the court is not functioning, a request will be made to take up the matter, which will be considered in accordance with law and prevailing practice".

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing in the court for the Assam government, referred to the alleged suppression of facts by Khera in his pre-arrest bail plea before the Telangana High Court and said Singhvi is making a "wrong statement".

Earlier, Mehta had argued that it is a case of lack of territorial jurisdiction, and there is no averment in Khera's plea as to why he had moved the Telangana High Court.

The case against Khera was registered at the Guwahati Crime Branch police station under sections 175 (false statement in connection with an election), 35 (right of private defence of the body and of property) and 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

"Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, this court is of the view that the petitioner has made out a case for the grant of limited transit anticipatory bail, as his apprehension of arrest appears to be reasonable and supported by material on record," the Telangana High Court had said in its order.

The conditions were that Khera shall be released on bail in the event of arrest on his executing a personal bond for Rs 1 lakh with two sureties for the like sum each, he shall cooperate in the probe and make himself available for interrogation as and when required by the investigating officer, and he shall not leave the country without the competent court's prior permission.

The conditions further included that Khera shall, within the stipulated period, approach the competent court in Assam and seek appropriate relief and, as a public figure, exercise restraint in making any further public statements in relation to the subject matter of the case, which may prejudice the investigation, the order had said.

Khera, who approached the high court on 7 April, showed his residential address in Hyderabad. He had requested the high court to release him on bail in the event of his arrest.