New Delhi: In a blow to Congress’s Pawan Kheda, the Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the Telangana High Court order granting him transit anticipatory bail, allowing him to be arrested by the Assam Police, which is searching for him in a case registered on the complaint of Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife.Expressing surprise over the Telangana High Court considering Kheda’s plea related to an FIR filed in Assam, a bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Atul S Chandukar stayed the April 10 order giving him a week’s time to approach the concerned court in Assam. However, the bench clarified that Khera can file a petition for anticipatory bail before any court having jurisdiction, which means he will have to approach an Assam court for protection.The bench passed the ex-parte order against Kheda after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state, sought an immediate stay on the HC order. The SG said the Congress functionary committed “forum-selection” by filing the case before the Telangana HC, which had no jurisdiction. He said Khera did not mention in his petition in the HC why he could not go to Assam.SG Mehta said Kheda invoked the jurisdiction of the Telangana HC on the ground that his wife lived there, but told the bench that his Aadhaar card had a Delhi address. He said that possession of immovable property in a state is not sufficient to invoke jurisdiction in that state and is an abuse of the process of law. SG Mehta said, “If this is the case, then one can buy property across the country, and take advance security from a place of one’s choosing. This is forum-shopping, if not forum-choosing.”The SG told the bench that the front of the Aadhaar card (filed in the HC) was in the name of respondent no. 1 (Khera), although the back showed his wife’s address. “Thus, by presenting a fabricated document, the petition for bail was filed only to expose the jurisdiction of the Telangana HC,” he said.After a brief hearing, the bench stayed the HC order and issued notice to Khera seeking his response on the appeal filed by the Assam government. “In the meantime, the implementation of the impugned order will remain stayed,” the bench said. We make it clear that if the defendant applies for anticipatory bail before the court having jurisdiction in Assam and while deciding such application, the order passed by this court today staying the order of transit bail will have no adverse effect on the court,” and posted the matter for May 13.Earlier, in a relief to Kheda, the HC had rejected the Assam government’s argument on the maintainability of the bail plea.