A court in Guwahati has declined to issue a non-bailable warrant against Pawan Khera, the Chairperson of the Media and Publicity Department and working committee member of the All India Congress Committee, ruling that the grounds put forward by the investigating officer were based entirely on presumption and lacked material support.
The order was delivered by the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kamrup Metro.
The CJM's court found that the Investigation Officer's case for issuing a non-bailable warrant did not hold up on scrutiny.
The court observed that the grounds cited were "entirely based on presumptions and conjectures and are not supported by any material on record" — a standard that must be met before such a coercive measure can be granted.
The court also noted that since the offence in question is both cognizable and non-bailable, the investigating officer already holds the authority under Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to arrest Khera without a warrant, if the needs of the investigation require it — in accordance with guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court.
"In view of the above, the prayer for issuance of a non-bailable warrant cannot be acceded to and hence rejected at this stage," the court ruled.
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The non-bailable warrant had been sought by the Crime Branch of the Guwahati Police Commissionerate, in connection with a complaint filed by Riniki Bhuyan Sharma against Pawan Khera.
Sharma had accused Khera of making what she described as "sensational and scandalous allegations" against her — the complaint that forms the basis of the ongoing case.
With the court's refusal to grant the NBW, the investigation will continue through other legally available means, including the option of arrest under BNSS provisions if the Crime Branch deems it necessary.