Hyderabad: Telangana high court on Thursday reserved its orders on the maintainability of an anticipatory bail petition filed by Congress leader Pawan Khera in connection with a case registered against him over his alleged defamatory remarks against Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma.The matter came up before Justice K Sujana, who posted it to Friday for orders after recording submissions from both sides. During the hearing, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing virtually for Khera’s counsel Ponnam Ashok Goud, submitted that the case was politically motivated, vindictive and malafide, only to harass the petitioner. Singhvi said the chief minister’s comments against the petitioner using abusive language and sending over 100 policemen from Assam to the petitioner’s Delhi residence showed the ulterior motive behind the case. Singhvi also pointed out to the Assam police seeking a non-bailable warrant from a magistrate against Khera, which was not allowed.Khera, addressing a press conference in Delhi recently, reportedly said that Riniki held multiple passports and also had assets in foreign countries.Meanwhile, counsel for Assam countered that the case was not just about defamation, but went much beyond and involved a bigger conspiracy, requiring a detailed investigation. He argued that the bail petition was not maintainable in view of the case jurisdiction as the case was in Assam and the alleged accused was a permanent resident of Delhi.
