New Delhi, 1 May

The Supreme Court has granted anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a case related to making allegations against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife, saying the matter appears to have stemmed from political rivalry.

A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar, in its order uploaded on Friday, granted the pre-arrest bail to Khera subject tocertain conditions. The court had on Thursday reserved its verdict in the matter.

Khera has alleged that Sarma's wife possessed multiple passports and undisclosed properties abroad. "The right to personal liberty is a cherished fundamental right, and any deprivation thereof must be justified on a higher threshold, particularly where the surrounding circumstances may indicate the presence of political overtones," the court said.

The appellant (Khera) is directed to be released on anticipatory bail in the event of his arrest in the crime branch police station and on such reasonable terms and conditions which may be put by the Investigating Officer as deemed fit, it directed. The top court said it is of the opinion that while adjudicating an application for anticipatory bail, a careful balance must be struck between the State's interest in ensuring a fair investigation and the individual's fundamental right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The bench directed Khera to cooperate in the investigation and to appear before the police station as and when required and intimated and he shall not influence or tamper with any of the evidence during pendency of the investigation or trial in the case.

It directed Khera to not leave India without prior leave of the competent court and said if the trial court deems it fit to impose some other conditions, it has the discretion to do the needful and put those conditions during trial.

"In this context, the criminal process must be applied with objectivity and circumspection so as to ensure that individual liberty is not imperiled by proceedings that may be coloured by political rivalry. We are further of the opinion that the allegations and counter-allegations, as apparent in the present case, prima facie, appear to be politically motivated and seemingly influenced by such rivalry, rather than disclosing a situation warranting custodial interrogation, and the veracity of the allegations can be tested at trial," it observed.

The bench said it is of the view that in the instant case, the allegations and counter allegations have been made by Khera as well as by the husband of the complainant (Assam Chief Minister). "At this stage, we are cognizant of the fact that personal liberty of an individual enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India cannot be put to jeopardy lightly. But at the same time, we are also of the view that for any offences as alleged in the FIR, the investigation should be completed with integrity and in full swing with co-operation of the appellant," it observed.

While allowing the appeal of Khera against the 24 April order of the Gauhati High Court, the bench said, "In our view, the observations as made by the high court in the order impugned is not based on correct appreciation of all the material which has been placed on record and appears to be erroneous, in particular shifting the burden on the accused."

The top court said the incident as alleged in the FIR occurred on 6 April, 2026 which is prior to the conclusion of the election campaign for Assembly elections in Assam.

"The appellant being the representative of a national political party organised a press conference making some allegations against the complainant, who is the wife of the chief minister of the State. While doing so, three passports were displayed by the appellant alleging that the complainant is having passports of three countries, out of which, two are of Muslim countries. However, the complainant's husband's politics is based on hatred against the Muslim community in the State," the bench had noted about the incident.

It said the prosecution upon investigation has found that the passports purported to be belonging to the complainant are fake and have been displayed by Khera to defame the wife of the CM, intentionally causing harm to their reputation and for this purpose, the press conference was organised.

The bench said it is true that the documents which have been exhibited by Khera are in custody of prosecution and they have made some preliminary investigation thereon.

"However, it primarily appears that merely to gain some political momentum in favour of his party, this statement has been made by the appellant. Albeit, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the chief minister of the state, who is also husband of the complainant, has made certain unparliamentary remarks against the appellant in various press statements which have been filed before this court vide annexure…," it noted.

Following the allegations, the CM's wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, filed criminal cases against Khera and others at the Guwahati Crime Branch police station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The Telangana High Court had earlier granted Khera a seven-day transit anticipatory bail, but Assam Police moved the Supreme Court against it. The apex court passed an interim order to stay the grant of anticipatory transit bail and asked Khera to approach the Gauhati High Court.