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Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said that the party is backing Pawan Khera as he moves to the Supreme Court after the Gauhati High Court refused to grant anticipatory bail in the case linked to an FIR lodged by Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

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In an X post, Jairam Ramesh said that Congress is confident of receiving relief from the apex court over "threat, intimidation, and harassment." "The entire Indian National Congress stands solidly in solidarity with Pawan Khera, the Chairman of its Media and Publicity Department. The verdict of the Guwahati High Court is in the process of being challenged in the Supreme Court. We are confident that justice will prevail over the politics of threat, intimidation, and harassment," Ramesh posted.

Gauhati High Court Rejects Bail Plea

On Friday, observing that the case goes beyond the realm of simple defamation and discloses a prima facie offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Gauhati High Court refused to grant anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera.

The court held that custodial interrogation is necessary to uncover the origin and authenticity of the documents relied upon by him and to identify the persons involved in their procurement.

Justice Parthivjyoti Saikia, while rejecting the plea, noted that the allegations made by Khera during a press conference in Guwahati regarding Riniki Bhuyan Sharma were based on documents which, according to the investigation so far, appear to be false. The court recorded that Khera has not substantiated his claims "beyond doubt" and has failed to demonstrate that the documents relied upon by him are genuine.

The court made a significant observation that the matter "cannot be termed as a case of defamation simpliciter," as there are sufficient materials to indicate a prima facie offence under Section 339 of the BNS. It further noted that after the FIR was lodged, the petitioner did not assert that the documents were falsely attributed to him by the police, which lends weight to the prosecution's case at this stage.

Taking note of the nature of allegations, the court observed that an "innocent lady has been dragged into the controversy," and that the claims made against her, such as holding multiple foreign passports and operating a foreign company with large investments, remain unproven.

The FIR was registered following Khera's press conference on April 5 in Guwahati, where he made allegations regarding Sharma's alleged foreign citizenship and overseas financial interests, claims she has categorically denied. (ANI)