Supreme Court denies relief to Pawan Khera, refuses to quash case in Modi name remark

Supreme Court denies relief to Pawan Khera, refuses to quash case in Modi name remark

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea that sought to quash criminal proceedings against Congress’ spokesperson Pawan Khera in connection with his objectionable remarks against Prime Minister Narender Modi in February last year.

The apex court observed that it was not inclined to consider the plea against the action taken regarding the remark and decided against interfering with the high court’s order.

The bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta were hearing a special leave petition that contested a decision by the Allahabad High Court, in which the High Court had declined to provide relief to Khera from the ongoing criminal proceedings arising from his objectionable comment.

“Wishing away an offence, is that possible?” inquired Justice Mehta as the bench proceeded to dismiss the plea, stating, “Sorry, we are not inclined,” the bench noted.

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In October 2023, the Supreme Court sought the Uttar Pradesh government’s response regarding the current plea. This followed the Allahabad High Court’s dismissal of Khera’s plea on August 17, leading to an appeal in the highest court.

The high court, on August 17 of the previous year, rejected Khera’s plea, stating that the evidence collected by the case’s investigating officer couldn’t be assessed in a petition filed under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to quash the case.

On March 20 of the same year, the Supreme Court consolidated three FIRs filed against Khera in Assam and Uttar Pradesh for allegedly making objectionable remarks against Prime Minister Modi. The court transferred the matter to the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow while extending his interim bail. Subsequently, the Lucknow court granted him bail in the case.

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What were Khera’s remarks against PM Modi?

During a press conference in February of the previous year, Congress leader Pawan Khera, while urging a JPC probe into the Adani-Hindenburg row, mistakenly mispronounced PM Modi’s name.

“If Narasimha Rao could form a JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee), if Atal Bihari Vajpayee could form a JPC, then what problem does Narendra Gautam Das…sorry Damodardas Modi have?” Khera had said.

He later seemed to confirm the middle name of PM Modi with a colleague. The BJP accused Khera of intentionally mispronouncing the name.

Following this incident, Khera was detained by the police at the Delhi airport on February 23 of the same year as he was boarding a flight to Raipur, Chhattisgarh, for an All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting.

His comment led to multiple first information reports (FIRs) and subsequently, his arrest by Assam police in that same month. Khera has since offered an unconditional apology in court for the alleged remarks.