The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment on Congress leader Pawan Khera's anticipatory bail plea, amidst allegations that he used forged documents to claim Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife held multiple passports.
Appearing for Assam, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that Khera must face custodial interrogation to explain whether he forged the documents or received them from others, and whether any 'foreign hand' was involved in an attempt to disrupt the state's assembly polls.
Mehta argued that the investigation so far showed the images displayed by Khera were forged, and that the state police needed to determine who created the forgeries, how they altered photographs, names, and QR codes, and whether any actors outside India played a role.
Khera's lawyer, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, argued that the case did not justify arrest, and that Sarma was targeting Khera out of political rivalry.
