The Supreme Court of India on Friday (April 17, 2026) allowed Congress leader Pawan Khera to immediately move the competent court in Assam for anticipatory bail in connection with an FIR filed by Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, over allegations that she held multiple passports.

A Bench headed by Justice J.K. Maheshwari refused to grant Mr. Khera’s request for protection from arrest till Tuesday (April 21). Mr. Khera said the courts in Assam were closed and that he was apprehensive of arrest by the Assam Police by Monday.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the interim relief of a one-week transit bail granted to him by the Telangana High Court expired on April 17, making him vulnerable to coercive measures by the police. This submission was made despite the fact that the High Court’s order had been stayed by the Supreme Court on April 15 on the basis of a challenge by the State of Assam.

The April 15 stay order of the Supreme Court had recorded the submission made by the State, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, that Mr. Khera had taken advantage of “fabricated documents” in the High Court and obtained the temporary relief of transit bail on April 10.

Mr. Khera had returned to the top court the very next day, on April 16, with an oral mentioning for an urgent hearing of his application seeking to clarify his stand further in the case. The court had acquiesced.

In the subsequent hearing on April 17 before Justice Maheshwari’s Bench, Mr. Singhvi clarified that the State had made “misleading” submissions about the document placed on record before the High Court.

Mr. Singhvi acknowledged there was a “mix-up”. He said the documentary “error” was pointed out to the High Court at the very outset of the transit bail hearing in the presence of the State counsel.

“It requires mens rea [deliberate intention] to commit forgery. I pointed out the error to the court before the hearing started and gave the correct documents. But this fact was not informed to My Lords on April 15… Liberty should not die at the hands of a technical lapse. All I want is protection till Tuesday (April 21) in continuation of the transit bail, which will expire today,” Mr. Singhvi pleaded.

Justice Maheshwari declined the request, asking Mr. Khera’s side to approach the competent Assam court without delay.

The top court, in its order, allowed Mr. Khera the liberty to immediately move the court in Assam. It directed that the Assam court would neither be influenced by the Telangana High Court granting transit bail on April 10 nor be swayed by the apex court order of April 15.

The Assam court would decide the plea for anticipatory bail filed by Mr. Khera on its own merits and based on the materials placed on record.

The case arises from a press conference addressed by Mr. Khera on April 4 in which he alleged that the Assam Chief Minister’s wife held three passports issued by different countries and levelled allegations of illegality against Mr. Sarma. An FIR was registered by the Guwahati Crime Branch on April 5, following which the Delhi residence of the Congress leader was searched on April 7.

Mr. Khera had argued that the FIR was motivated by “political vendetta” and was an attempt to silence him. The Assam Police had challenged the territorial jurisdiction of the Telangana High Court over a case registered in Assam.