The Supreme Court has granted anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a forgery and defamation case related to alleged false statements against Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

 

A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar yesterday observed that the allegations and counter-allegations in the case were Prima Facie politically motivated and appeared to be influenced by political rivalry, rather than disclosing a situation that warranted custodial interrogation. The Court further noted that the veracity of the allegations can be examined during the course of the trial.

 

The Apex Court also said, its observations are only for deciding the bail application and should not affect the merits of the case, which must be decided independently in accordance with the law.

 

The Congress leader had approached the Supreme Court after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by Gauhati High Court last month. Assam police had filed an FIR against Mr Khera for allegedly making false allegations against wife of Assam Chief Minister.