Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Feb 23: The Delhi airport Terminal 1 witnessed some unprecedented scenes on Thursday with a Congress leader asked to de-plane, other Congress members launching a protest dharna on the tarmac leading to the cancellation of the flight to Raipur.
Hours later the Congress spokesman Pawan Khera who was ordered to de-plane the flight by the Assam police and later placed under arrest, was granted interim bail by the Dwarka magisterial court at the order of the Supreme Court till Tuesday which would enable the Congress leader to attend the party’s 85th plenary session beginning in Raipur from Friday.
The dramatic developments began at the Delhi airport when Khera and other Congress leaders boarded an IndiGo flight to Raipur to attend the party meeting. A team of the Assam police assisted by the Delhi police and the CISF personnel posted at the airport approached Khera and asked him to de-board the plane telling him that there were some “baggage issue” and some couple of hours later placed him under arrest on the basis of a complaint lodged in Assam for allegedly using language “denigrating” the prime minister Narendra Modi, a constitutional authority, during a press conference.
As the Congress approached the Supreme Court against the arrest, the apex court ordered the Magistrate to release Khera on interim bail till February 28. A Special Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud issued notice to Assam and Uttar Pradesh governments in a plea by Mr. Khera to transfer and club multiple FIRs registered against him in one jurisdiction. The Court listed the case for hearing on this point on Monday.
Chief Justice Chandrachud said some level should be maintained during public discourse. The Court was shown the video of the press conference by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for Assam.
Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, for Mr. Khera, who is the chairperson of the media and publicity department of the All India Congress Committee, said the use of language by his client though inadvertent was erroneous.
Mr. Singhvi said he himself would not stand by the use of such language during a public discourse. He said Mr. Khera has tendered his unconditional apology. His words were not meant to be personally offensive. He said the wrong sections have been applied against him. Offences which Mr. Khera has been booked under, if found guilty, would mean imprisonment of up to a minimum of three to five years.
Mr. Khera has been variously booked under IPC Sections 153A (promoting religious enmity), 153B (imputations or assertions prejudicial to national integration), 295A (outraging religious feelings), 500 (defamation), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), 505 (statements amounting to public mischief), 120B (criminal conspiracy)in Uttar Pradesh and Assam.
Ms. Bhati countered that Mr. Khera’s verbal expressions in the video did not reveal that his words were unintentional. He has denigrated a constitutional authority, and “none less than the Prime Minister,” Ms. Bhati said. After receiving a copy of the apex court’s order for Mr. Khera’s release, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Archana Beniwal granted interim bail till February 28 to Mr. Khera on a bail bond of ₹30,000 and one surety of the like amount. The magistrate passed the order around 6.10 p.m, about two hours after he was produced in a jam-packed courtroom at around 4 p.m.
A large team of police personnel escorted Mr. Khera inside the court, while another police contingent cordoned off the courtroom outside which several Congress supporters had gathered. During the proceedings, Randeep Surjewala, the counsel for Mr. Khera, informed the magistrate that the apex court has passed an order granting Mr. Khera an interim bail.
He told the court that copies of the FIR and arrest memo were not provided to Mr. Khera and the Arnesh Kumar guidelines of the Supreme Court were not followed. Arnesh Kumar guidelines were part of the Supreme Court judgement which said arrests must be an exception and police must first decide if an arrest was necessary under Section 41 of the CrPC.
Mr. Khera said he was asked to de-board the plane for baggage reasons. “I don’t know why I have been de-planed. I was told that they need to check my baggage, I told them that I only have a handbag, but they still insisted that I leave the plane,” he said. “I was asked to deplane as if I was a terrorist. It can happen to anyone tomorrow,” he said after being freed from police lock-up.
Nearly 50 Congress leaders launched a rare protest on the Delhi airport tarmac this morning after Mr Khera was asked to get off a flight to Raipur. The flight was later cancelled and other passengers sent to Raipur through other flights.
A police team came all the way from BJP-ruled Assam to arrest Mr Khera, armed with an FIR that accused him of remarks “made intentionally” to provoke BJP workers, “causing breach of public peace, with intent to incite violence and disturb peace and tranquility in the society.”
Granting Mr Khera reprieve, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said: “There has to be some level of discourse, we are protecting you.” The Supreme Court agreed to the Congress’s request to club cases registered against Mr Khera in Uttar Pradesh and Assam.
At a recent press conference, Mr Khera flubbed PM Modi’s name while demanding a parliamentary inquiry into the Adani-Hindenburg row. “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?” the Congress spokesperson had said.
The FIR said the remarks were “not just insulting, defamatory and derogatory to Modi and his deceased father.” The Congress, which approached the Supreme Court, argued that it was a “slip of tongue” and that Mr Khera had apologised.
The judges were repeatedly shown Mr Khera’s video. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud asked at one point how it was a case of “religious disharmony.” The BJP, which rules Assam, says Mr Khera’s fumble was deliberate. “Our lordships may see the facial expressions and the laughs all around. This is the PM of the country,” said Bhati.
Assam has emerged as the favoured destination for FIRs linked to anti-BJP criticism. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had posted a strong tweet after Mr Khera first made the comments.
The Congress said the BJP is acting out of fear and wants to block the party’s plenary session because of the “successful Bharat Jodo Yatra of Rahul Gandhi.” Last week, the Enforcement Directorate carried out searches on Congress MLAs in Chhattisgarh over allegations of money-laundering.
“Today the situation in the country is worse than the Emergency. There is an emergency-like situation in the country without declaring it. His arrest has defamed our country all over the world. Nothing can be more unfortunate than this, that is why we say democracy is in danger and the Constitution is being torn to shreds. The public will destroy their pride,” said Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
