NEW DELHI: Personal liberty cannot be sacrificed for political vendetta, said Congress leader Pawan Khera a day after the Supreme Court granted him anticipatory bail in a case filed over allegations against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife.
A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar, in its order uploaded on Friday, granted Khera pre-arrest bail subject to certain conditions.
The court had reserved its verdict in the matter on Thursday.
In a post on X, Khera thanked the Supreme Court and the Congress leadership after he was granted anticipatory bail.
"I thank the Hon'ble Supreme Court for upholding the rule of law, and Abhishek Singhvi along with the AICC Law Department for their timely and steadfast interventions. For the second time, Dr Singhvi & his sharp team - Muhammad Khan and Omar Hoda - have defended my liberty amid sustained threats and intimidation by the Assam CM," he said.
Khera said he was deeply grateful to senior party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh for their unwavering support and encouragement.
He also thanked the millions of Congress supporters who stood by him with their voices and prayers.
"My bail is not only a personal victory and a source of relief, but also a reminder to those who misuse state power that as long as we remain a constitutional democracy, personal liberty cannot be sacrificed for political vendetta. No matter how formidable falsehood may seem, it is the truth that triumphs. Satyameva Jayate!" Khera said in his post.
The Supreme court said in its judgment that the "right to personal liberty is a cherished fundamental right, and any deprivation thereof must be justified on a higher threshold, particularly where the surrounding circumstances may indicate the presence of political overtones."
The Congress had hailed the Supreme Court's decision and said the law stands above all. The party also urged Assam Chief Minister Sarma to seriously reflect on his "deeply inappropriate" statements, which lowered the standards of democracy.
Singhvi asked Sarma to reconsider whether it was befitting of a person holding a constitutional position to use such language against Khera, which the top court has also cited in its judgement, and urged him to express regret.
Sarma, on his part, hit back, saying he does not need lessons on democracy, public discourse or decency from anyone, especially Singhvi, and asserted that this was "just a beginning and not the end."
(With inputs from PTI)