Cong’s Khera taken off plane, arrested for PM remark; gets interim relief from SC

Issuing notice on Khera’s plea to club the FIRs registered against him on this issue in Uttar Pradesh and Assam, the bench also made it clear that the relief granted was in respect of the Assam FIR.

“In order to protect the petitioner until such date as he applies for regular bail before the jurisdictional court upon the FIRs being transferred to one and the same jurisdiction, we direct that till the next date of listing, the petitioner shall be released on interim bail by the court of the competent magistrate in Delhi where he is to be produced this evening. The above order shall remain in operation till Tuesday,” the court said in its order.

Khera, who heads the party’s media and publicity wing, had made the comments on February 20 at a press conference held in Mumbai on the allegations levelled by US-based Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group.

On Thursday, Singhvi argued in the Supreme Court that Khera had said he “genuinely got confused if it’s Damodardas or Gautamdas” while taking the Prime Minister’s name at the event. “It was an unfortunate statement…He also apologised and said he made a mistake…The very day, he said it was a slip of a tongue,” Singhvi said.

Earlier in the day, triggering protests by his party colleagues on the tarmac at the Delhi airport, Khera was deplaned from an IndiGo flight to Raipur where he was headed to attend the AICC plenary session.

Delhi Police officers said they had received a request from Assam Police for assistance in arresting the Congress leader in the case lodged at the Dima Hasao police station in Haflong district. Khera was subsequently arrested by the investigating officer of Assam Police.

After he was deplaned, Khera, along with Congress leaders K C Venugopal, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Supriya Shrinate and others, protested at the tarmac. Khera and Surjewala were later taken to the airport police station.

Khera’s detention was slammed by the Congress, with Venugopal tweeting: “Using a flimsy FIR to restrict his movement & silence him is a shameful, unacceptable act.”

Following his release on interim bail, Khera said he was “grateful” to the Supreme Court for upholding his liberties. Accusing Assam Police of arresting him “illegally without serving any notice”, Khera said, “The law came to my rescue… Am I a terrorist? Why did they deplane me? I’m fighting for my country, my rights as a citizen, our Constitution…”

The day’s developments also prompted a sharp reaction from Assam Chief Minister and BJP leader Hemanta Biswa Sarma. Speaking to NDTV while campaigning in Nagaland’s Dimapur, Sarma said, “If the FIR has been registered against relevant sections of the law, the police have all the rights to arrest… Don’t go by the manner, whether he is in the sky or on earth, the police have to arrest.”

Sarma also referred to the FIRs filed against him by the Congress for his remarks against Rahul Gandhi last year. “Can you abuse a father? Because I said something about the father of a leader, Congress has filed 130 FIRs against me in Telangana,” he said.

Meanwhile, mentioning the matter before the Supreme Court bench in the post-lunch session, Singhvi stated that Khera had clarified that the use of language in the remarks delivered at the press conference was inadvertent, though erroneous. He also said the Congress leader would tender an unconditional apology since it was not his intent to be personally offensive.

Singhvi argued that the words taken at face value, as reflected in the FIRs, do not establish an offence punishable under the IPC sections invoked, including 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).

“Speaking for myself, I wouldn’t (agree with what was said)…I have given enough time on TV for the last 20 years…It’s difficult sometimes to restrain oneself, but I don’t believe in crossing boundaries. But if someone has crossed boundaries, this can’t be the offence, this can’t be the reaction,” said Singhvi.

“This should not happen in any circumstance. I don’t support it. But (for) any amount of political dialogue in a country or free speech, if you can invoke Section 153A for this or Section 295A, that is wrong. Irrespective of that, Your Lordships will not support this speech, that’s a different matter. But you cannot invoke 153A and 295. It has happened in the heat of the debate,” he contended.

The bench asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, who appeared for Assam, how offences under the two sections were made out. The ASG urged the bench to see a video clip of the press conference and said “it’s the demeanour in the interview that counts…”.

She said, “Your Lordships will have to see in what manner he has said that. He said in a very derogatory manner. It’s a very calculated statement. It’s a statement calculated not just at insulting the Prime Minister of the country but to make sure this incites disaffection, disloyalty. Public discourse is completely taken away. After all, the PM of the country is a duly elected PM.”

Bhati took the court through the clip and told the bench that the expression used by the petitioner was “not unintentional” but was on the contrary “a deliberate attempt to denigrate a constitutional functionary”.

She said Khera would be produced before the jurisdictional magistrate where the accused can pursue remedies prescribed under the Criminal Procedure Code.