Facing imminent arrest, Congress leader Pawan Khera has got a huge relief from the Supreme Court which granted him anticipatory bail in a case over his allegations that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife possessed multiple passports and undisclosed properties abroad.A Bench of Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice AS Chandurkar said that “the allegations and counter-allegations, as apparent in the present case, prima facie, appear to be politically motivated and seemingly influenced by such rivalry, rather than disclosing a situation warranting custodial interrogation, and the veracity of the allegations can be tested at trial.”Allowing his appeal against the April 24 order of the Gauhati High Court order refusing to grant him anticipatory bail in the case, the Bench directed Khera to be “released on anticipatory bail in the event of his arrest in Crime Branch P.S. Case No. 04/2026 and on such reasonable terms and conditions which may be put by the Investigating Officer as deemed fit”.The top court directed Khera to co-operate in the investigation and appear before the police station as and when required and intimated. It also ordered him not to influence or tamper with any of the evidence during pendency of the investigation or trial and not to leave India without prior leave of the competent court.“We further direct that if the trial court deems it fit to impose some other conditions, it has the discretion to do the needful and put those conditions during trial,” the Bench said in its April 30 order released on Friday morning.“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,” it noted“Having regard to the aforesaid considerations, we are of the opinion that while adjudicating an application for anticipatory bail, a careful balance must be struck between the State’s interest in ensuring a fair investigation and the individual’s fundamental right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” the Bench said, while finding fault the High Court’s impugned order.“We further make it clear that the reference of the documents and the material made hereinabove is only for the purpose of consideration of grant of anticipatory bail and it has nothing to do with the merits of the criminal case. Therefore, the competent court shall not be influenced by those observations and shall proceed in the matter in accordance with law,” it clarified.“At this stage, we are cognizant of the fact that personal liberty of an individual enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India cannot be put to jeopardy lightly. But at the same time, we are also of the view that for any offences as alleged in the FIR, the investigation should be completed with integrity and in full swing with co-operation of the Appellant (Khera),” it said.Following the allegations levelled by Khera, the CM’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, filed criminal cases against the Congress leader and others at the Guwahati Crime Branch police station under various Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).Earlier, the Telangana High Court had on April 10 granted a seven-day transit anticipatory bail to Khera.However, acting on a petition filed by the Assam Police, the Supreme Court stayed the anticipatory transit bail and asked him to move the Gauhati High Court which turned down his bail plea on April 24.Khera had submitted the Aadhaar Number of his wife to show that she resided in Telangana to invoke the jurisdiction of the Telangana High Court, the top court had noted.Khera was facing imminent arrest in the case after the Gauhati High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea and said that his custodial interrogation was needed as he dragged an innocent lady into a controversy.Contending that the allegations against Khera were a matter of trial, senior counsel AM Singhvi had on Thursday said it was not necessary to humiliate him by arresting him as many of the provisions invoked against him were bailable while others didn’t require his arrest.However, on behalf of the Assam Government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had opposed Khera’s anticipatory bail plea, saying the accused showed fake and doctored copies of passports of the chief minister’s wife.Mehta had pointed out that Khera has been absconding and releasing videos. All the allegations about the chief minister’s wife holding multiple citizenships are false, he said.