The Supreme Court, on Monday, 20 March, asked for the three cases against Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Assam after he allegedly insulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a press conference, should be clubbed and transferred to Lucknow in UP.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala also extended his interim bail till 10 April and asked Khera to obtain regular bail from the Lucknow court by then.
"We order and direct that FIRs registered in Varanasi and Assam shall stand transferred to Hazratganj police station , Lucknow. The interim protection stands extended till April 10, 2023. The petitioner will be at liberty to apply for regular bail before jurisdictional court," the Court directed.
Background: Khera was booked for referring to Prime Minister as “Narendra Gautamdas Modi," in a recent a recent press conference, where the party demanded an investigation by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) against the Gautam Adani Group.
After this, a police complaint was registered against Khera by Assam BJP member Samuel Changsan at the Haflong police station, Dima Hasao, on Wednesday, reported The Indian Express.
Charges:
Khera has been booked under following sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC):
Section 120 B: criminal conspiracy
Section 153 A, 153 B (1): promoting enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, etc
Section 500: defamation
Section 504: Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace
Section 505 (1) (2): Statements conducing to public mischief
After being arrested from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport on 23 February, Khera was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on the same day.
He was arrested by Assam Police, aided by the Delhi Police, at Terminal 1 of the IGI Airport in Delhi on Thursday, over his comment about Prime Minister Modi.
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