The Gauhati High Court on Friday rejected pre-arrest bail for Pawan Khera in connection with a defamation FIR filed on a complaint by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan, over the senior Congress leader’s allegations that she held multiple passports and owned offshore properties.
With the High Court refusing pre-arrest relief, and the Supreme Court having earlier declined to intervene, Khera is now likely to surrender and seek regular bail.
On April 10, the Telangana High Court had granted Khera a week’s pre-arrest bail on April 10. The relief was short-lived after Assam Police challenged the order in the Supreme Court.
Five days later, the Supreme Court stayed the Telangana High Court’s order, effectively blocking the transit bail.
And on April 17, the top court refused to vacate the stay and also rejected Khera’s request to extend the interim protection to enable him to approach the Gauhati High Court.
Ahead of the April 9 Assembly polls in Assam, Khera alleged that Riniki Bhuyan held passports from multiple countries, including the UAE, Egypt and Antigua and Barbuda.
He also claimed to have documents suggesting she acquired foreign citizenship between 2021 and 2022, and further accused the Assam Chief Minister of not disclosing his wife’s overseas assets in his election affidavit.
The allegations quickly triggered a political storm, with Sarma and his wife dismissing them as “fabricated” and “AI-generated lies” aimed at misleading voters. They also alleged that the claims originated from a Pakistani YouTube channel.
In response, Riniki Bhuyan initiated both criminal and civil defamation proceedings against Khera.
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Published By:
Shipra Parashar
Published On:
Apr 24, 2026 10:57 IST
