Pawan Khera Arrested; granted Interim Bail

In a major relief to Pawan Khera, the Supreme Court has ordered a Delhi court to grant Congress leader Pawan Khera interim bail after he was arrested for his comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s father. Additionally, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Assam and Uttar Pradesh police regarding Khera’s plea to combine FIRs. The next hearing for the matter is scheduled for February 28, tuesday.

Pawan Khera approached the Supreme Court to seek relief in various FIRs registered against him in Assam, Lucknow, and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud ordered the release of Congress leader Pawan Khera on interim bail until he applies for regular bail before the jurisdictional court. Senior Advocate AS Singhvi requested interim relief and consolidation of FIRs, as multiple FIRs were filed across the country.

Singhvi mentioned that Khera had apologized and called it a slip of the tongue. The lawyer representing Assam Police informed the Supreme Court that Khera was arrested and would be presented before the court for transit remand, adding that Khera made derogatory remarks against a democratically elected Prime Minister.

The Assam Police detained senior Congress leader Pawan Khera at Delhi airport on Thursday following an FIR filed against him over comments he made about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Khera was deplaned from an IndiGo flight to Raipur, where he was planning to attend the AICC plenary session starting on Friday.

In a recent press conference, where Khera was seen demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into allegations made by the US-based Hindenburg Research firm against the Adani Group, Pawan Khera referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “Narendra Gautamdas Modi” spurring a massive outrage across the country.

According to a source close to the police, a case was filed at Hazratganj police station in the city under sections 153-A, 500, 504, and 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). These sections pertain to promoting enmity between different groups, defamation, intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of peace, and making statements that create or promote enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes.

Pawan Khera is facing 15 cases that have been registered against him in different districts of Assam, he added.

While Senior Advocate AM Singhvi informed the Supreme Court about Khera’s arrest and stated that he will bring up the issue in front of a bench led by the Chief Justice of India. In a latest update, The Supreme Court has scheduled to hear the plea regarding the arrest of Congress leader Pawan Khera at 3 pm today.

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Congress leaders hit airport Tarmac, chant “Modi Teri Kabar Khudegi”

A political spectacle occurred at Delhi airport when Pawan Khera was removed from an indigo flight bound for Raipur. Following his deboarding, several other party leaders also exited the plane and staged a dharna (protest) on the tarmac. Khera’s intended destination was the Congress plenary in Raipur.

Tension escalated at the terminal in Delhi as Congress leaders were informed by flight staff that there was confusion with Pawan Khera’s bags. They were told that the police were on their way to explain the situation to him. However, later on, Delhi police delivered a document from Assam Police requesting their assistance in detaining Khera. According to PTI, Khera has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) due to his alleged comments about the prime minister.

Meantime, Congress leaders were seen chanting “Modi Tera Kabar Khudegi” in criticism to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling for his death as a politician.

“Modi jab jab darta hai, police ko aage karta hai” Congress

The Congress party condemned the incident, describing it as “undemocratic” and a display of “dictatorial behaviour”. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate shared footage of Pawan Khera being escorted into a bus by Assam Police, with Randeep Surjewala accompanying him. She questioned whether this was an example of the government’s commitment to freedom of speech, given that Prime Minister Modi had previously made comments about the Nehru surname. Shrinate also defended Khera’s remarks, stating that it was a simple mistake and that he had corrected himself.

According to the information provided, Congress leaders protested on the tarmac by shouting slogans against the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The leaders shouted, “Modi jab jab darta hai, police ko aage karta hai” (Whenever Modi is scared, he puts the police in front).

The Congress released a statement on Twitter stating that the flight on which Pawan Khera was deboarded also had senior party leaders, including General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal and General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala on board.

According to the statement released by the Congress, the party believes that the incident involving Pawan Khera is another attempt by the Modi government to disrupt their plenary session, following ED raids in Chhattisgarh. Additionally, General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh criticized Union Home Minister Amit Shah and referred to the incident as an example of dictatorship under the “Amit Shahi” regime. Ramesh also stated that the Modi government is attempting to disrupt their national convention, but the Congress party will continue to fight for the people of the country.

 

 

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