SC agrees to hear Khera plea on 'Gautam Das' remark, seeks UP govt response

The Supreme Court has sought the Uttar Pradesh government's response, while agreeing to hear a plea by Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera challenging the Allahabad High Court's refusal to quash criminal proceedings against him over an alleged 'Narendra Gautam Das Modi' remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi made at a press conference.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra issued a notice while hearing a special leave petition against the 17 August order of Allahabad High Court, and also agreed to examine an interim plea by Khera to stay the trial.

Appearing for Khera, Abhishek Manu Singhvi had earlier said Khera had posted a clarification on X that the comment had been made inadvertently.

On 17 August, the high court had dismissed Khera's plea, saying the evidence collected by the investigating officer of the case cannot be evaluated by a petition filed under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for quashing the case.

Khera had been booked under sections 153A (promoting enmity between religious groups), 153B, 295A (malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 500 (defamation), 504 (intentional insult to provoke), 505 and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

On 23 February this year, Assam Police arrested Khera from Delhi airport in connection with an FIR registered over his remark, in which the Supreme Court granted Khera temporary relief and directed his release on interim bail until the next date of hearing.

Later, the top court clubbed the FIRs registered against him at Varanasi and Assam and transferred them to Hazratganj police station in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Khera then moved Allahabad High Court to quash the FIRs, but the court dismissed his plea. He has now approached the Supreme Court seeking to quash the plea.

During a press conference in February, Khera, while demanding a joint parliamentary probe (JPC) into the Adani-Hindenburg row, had said: "If Narasimha Rao could form a JPC, if Atal Behari Vajpayee could form a JPC, then what problem does Narendra Gautam Das... sorry, Damodardas Modi have?"