No anticipatory bail to Pawan Khera, Custodial interrogation necessary:HC

The Guwahati High Court has rejected the anticipatory bail plea filed by senior Congress leader Pawan Khera. The Bench of Justice Parthivjyoti Saikia on Friday declined to grant him relief in connection with a case registered by the Crime Branch of Guwahati Police. During the hearing held earlier on April 21, senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kamal Nayan Choudhury represented Khera, while Assam’s Advocate General Devajit Saikia strongly opposed the plea. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court had reserved its order, which it pronounced on Friday, rejecting the anticipatory bail application. 
The Bench said that Khera's custodial interrogation was necessary to investigate the matter. "There are no materials in this case to suggest that the accusations brought against the present petitioner are intended to injure and humiliate the applicant/petitioner by having him arrested," the Court added. In his petition before the High Court, Khera argued that the allegations against him arise out of statements made in a public and political context during a press conference. He said that the same were "selectively construed" to initiate the criminal proceedings. 
Khera added that the FIR was registered to "satisfy ulterior motive/political vendetta of the complainant", who is the wife of the Assam Chief Minister. The case stems from allegations made by Khera during a press conference against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma regarding alleged multiple passports and foreign assets. Terming the claims baseless, she had filed a complaint with the Crime Branch.