NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday clubbed three FIRs filed against Congress leader and spokesperson Pawan Khera and transferred those to Hazratganj Police station in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh for his remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala also extended the interim protection from arrest, earlier granted to Khera, till April 10.
The court said Khera will be at liberty to apply for regular bail before the jurisdictional court.
The court passed the order, after hearing Pawan Khera's plea seeking clubbing of FIRs registered against him in various states for his alleged comments on Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.
Khera was arrested by the Assam Police, and was stopped by Delhi Police from boarding the plane at the airport in the national capital on February 23 after a request was received from the Assam Police to stop him in connection with the FIR pertaining to his alleged comment on Modi.
Earlier, the Assam Police had registered a case against the Congress leader in the Dima Hasao district. Two seperate FIRs have been registered against Khera in Varanasi and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.
The court in ita order protected Khera from arrest till April 10 to seek regular bail from Lucknow court. Khera was booked by two state police after he introduced 'Gautamdas' in PM Narendra Modi's name.
"We order an direct that the FIRs registered at Varanasi and at Assam shall stand transferred to PS Hazratganj. The ad interim order passed by this court shall stand extended till 10 April," the bench said.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, aenior law officer of Assam, told the Supreme Court, "We have no problem to clubbing of FIR. Let it be clubbed in Assam and let Assam police probe the case."
The bench, however, said that the first FIR is Lucknow.
"The practice is to club it to the place where first FIR was registered," the bench said.
Mehta also pointed out said that the petitioner (Khera) never tendered an apology and not even showed remorse. Only his lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi had submitted unconditional apology.
The bench, however, said that this is the usual practice. It is the counsel who tenders the apology before the court.
Singhvi requested for a transfer to Delhi since the incident took place in Delhi and if it can be heard on Monday.
The SG also said that it was not an innocuous statement.
"We want to see who was behind the statement. How can someone stoop to this level of bringing someone's parents," he said.
Within a few hours of his arrest from Delhi on February 23, Khera was ordered to be released on interim bail by the top court.
Khera is the chairperson of the Media and Publicity Department of the Indian National Congress. He made the remarks at a press conference held on February 17, 2023 in Mumbai.
