Team News Riveting
New Delhi, February 27
The Supreme Court on Monday extended the interim bail granted to Congress leader Pawan Khera till Friday in connection with a derogatory remark passed on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Khera had reportedly taunted while taking the name of Prime Minister Modi’s late father, during a press conference in Mumbai on February 17. He addressed the Prime Minister as “Narendra Gautamdas Modi” (in context of Gautam Adani issue).
An offence was registered at Haflong police station in Assam’s Dima Hasao district on a complaint lodged by a local BJP leader. Similar FIRs were also lodged against Khera at Hazratganj police station at Lucknow and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
Khera was deboarded from an aircraft at Delhi airport on February 23 while he along with other Congress leaders was going to Raipur Chhattisgarh for the 85th Plenary Session of the Congress and was subsequently arrested by a team of Assam police. He has been booked under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the IPC.
Khera was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court. The Apex Court on Monday extended the bail till Friday.
It had issued notices to the states of Assam and Uttar Pradesh, seeking their responses to Khera’s plea for transferring and clubbing together three separate FIRs lodged against him at Lucknow, Varanasi and Dima Hasao for his alleged offensive remarks against the Prime Minister.
The Congress leader had tendered an unconditional apology for his comment.
