On Friday, the Telangana High Court provided a temporary reprieve to senior Congress politician Pawan Khera, who sought the court’s intervention fearing arrest by the Crime Branch of the Guwahati police. This concern arose from a First Information Report (FIR) filed against him by Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, the wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on April 5.
Justice K Sujana, who presided over the anticipatory bail application submitted by Khera, stated, “The petitioner is granted one week’s time to file an application before the appropriate court. The petitioner is granted relief for one week, subject to certain conditions.”
Khera has accused the complaint against him of being driven by “political vendetta” and having “ulterior motives,” asserting that the FIR is a mechanism intended to silence and intimidate him. In response, the Assam Police contested Khera’s petition on the basis of maintainability, highlighting that the FIR was registered in Assam, Khera resides permanently in Delhi, and the anticipatory bail request was filed in Telangana.
The controversy originated from a press conference Khera held on April 4, 2026, during which he alleged that the wife of Assam’s Chief Minister possessed three passports from different countries and accused Sarma of engaging in multiple illegal activities.
An FIR was subsequently lodged against him by the Guwahati Crime Branch on April 5, and police conducted a search of his residence in Delhi on April 7. On the same day, Khera filed a petition seeking anticipatory bail with the Telangana High Court.
Rahul V Pisharody serves as an Assistant Editor for the Indian Express Online and has been covering various news stories from Telangana since 2019, with a particular focus on legal issues emerging from the Telangana High Court.
Pisharody initiated his journalism career in 2011 at The New Indian Express, where he held various positions at the Hyderabad bureau for over eight years. As the Deputy Metro Editor, he oversaw the Hyderabad bureau and coordinated efforts among city reporters, district correspondents, and the internet desk for more than three years.
Originally from Palakkad in Kerala, Pisharody holds a Master’s degree in Communication (Print and New Media) from the University of Hyderabad and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from PSG College of Arts and Science in Coimbatore.
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