The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on Congress leader Pawan Khera’s plea seeking anticipatory bail in a case related to allegations involving Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife. The case stems from claims that she allegedly possessed multiple passports and had undisclosed properties abroad.

A bench comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar heard the matter in detail. During the hearing, Khera’s legal team argued that denying anticipatory bail would defeat the very purpose of protecting an individual from arrest before trial. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Khera, submitted that the allegations against him are matters to be examined during trial and that arrest at this stage would be unnecessary and would cause humiliation. He also pointed out that several sections invoked in the case are bailable in nature and do not mandate arrest.

On the other hand, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Assam government, strongly opposed the plea. He alleged that Khera circulated fake and doctored copies of the Chief Minister’s wife’s passports and claimed that he has been evading arrest while continuing to post videos and make public statements containing false accusations. The government maintained that his conduct justified rejection of anticipatory bail.

Khera has challenged the April 24 order of the Gauhati High Court, which had refused to grant him anticipatory bail. The case was originally filed by Riniki Bhuyan Sharma at the Guwahati Crime Branch police station under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The Telangana High Court had granted Khera a short-term transit anticipatory bail. However, the Supreme Court later stayed that order and directed him to approach the Gauhati High Court for relief. The apex court has now reserved its decision, which is awaited.