Congress leader Pawan Khera told the Supreme Court of India on Thursday that it was “not necessary to humiliate him with arrest.” The remarks from Khera come as he applied for anticipatory bail amid the row sparked by his claim that Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife Rinki Bhuyan Sarma holds three passports.
Khera further told the top court that if he does not get anticipatory bail in the case against him in Assam, then the purpose of pre-arrest bail is gone.
What did Khera tell the Supreme Court?
A bench of Justices JK Maheswari and Atul Chandurkar heard the case filed a Khera, which challenges the rejection of his anticipatory bail plea by the Gauhati high court.
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Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared for Khera, stated that the case was an "unprecedented one."
Invoking the values of Dr BR Ambedkar, Singhvi further argued that the words used by Himanta Biswa Sarma against Khera would make the leader "turn in his grave."
"Dr.Ambedkar would turn in his grave if he had imagined that a Constitutional office holder will speak like a Constitutional cowboy or a Constitutional Rambo," Singhvi submitted, as per LiveLaw.
{{/usCountry}}"Dr.Ambedkar would turn in his grave if he had imagined that a Constitutional office holder will speak like a Constitutional cowboy or a Constitutional Rambo," Singhvi submitted, as per LiveLaw.
{{/usCountry}}The advocate further stated that adequate measures could be implemented to ensure that Khera does not flee and that he cooperates with the investigation, but there was no need for his arrest.
The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment and will reconvene for the verdict at a later date.
What is the case against Khera?
A defamation FIR was filed against Congress leader Pawan Khera after he alleged that Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife, Rinki Bhuyan, holds three passports - from India, the UAE and Egypt.
Addressing the press conference in Guwahati, Khera also alleged that Bhuyan owns undisclosed luxury properties in Dubai and a company in the US state of Wyoming.
Following the allegations, an FIR was filed against Khera, which also triggered a raid at his Delhi home. Assam Police DCP Debojit Nath said that Khera was not found at his residence, but said some electronic devices had been seized
The Ministry of External Affairs also stepped in with Union State Minister Pabitra Margherita, saying that the claims made by Khera against Sarma's wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, were “fake and fabricated.”