Punjab Drug Racket Case: Mohali Court Dismisses SAD Leader Bikram Singh Majithia’s Anticipatory Bail Plea

On Monday, Bikram Singh Majithia was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on the basis of a 2018 report of investigation into a drug racket in the state.

File Photo: PTI

New Delhi: A Mohali court on Friday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea by Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia, news agency PTI reported.

This comes after Bikram Majithia had moved the court on Thursday after being booked in a drug case. Along with the case, a lookout circular was also issued against him.

The bail application was filed by Bikram Majithia’s counsel DS Sobti, who informed reporters outside the court that the additional sessions judge has “dismissed the plea”.

In his plea, the Shiromani Akali Dal leader had submitted that the Congress government in the state had “left no stone unturned to misuse its powers and position for wreaking vengeance upon its political opponents”.

“In this case, though, from the facts, the applicant has tried to make out a case of political vendetta but applicant himself was one of the powerful persons in the state politics till the year 2017 and delay in lodging the FIR cannot be a ground to presume that whole case against the applicant is false,” the court order stated, as quoted by PTI.

The court also maintained that the question of legality of the FIR also cannot be a ground for the grant of anticipatory bail.

The FIR has been registered on the basis of report which prima facie “shows the involvement of the applicant in the drug trade” and “harbouring” of the accused involved in it, the court noted.

It further stated that "all these facts and financial transactions and extent of complicity of the applicant needs to be thoroughly investigated, which can be done only under custodial interrogation of the applicant and not under the protection of anticipatory bail”.

Hence, keeping in view all facts and the gravity of the offence, it is not a fit case where benefit of anticipatory bail can be granted to the applicant, it added.

“Accordingly, finding no merit in the bail application and the same is hereby dismissed. However, any observation made herein before shall have no bearing on the merits of the case,” the court order read, as quoted by PTI.

Bikram Singh Majithia Alleges “Political Vendetta”

On Monday, Bikram Singh Majithia was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on the basis of a 2018 report of investigation into a drug racket in the state.

The Shiromani Akali Dal leader is the brother-in-law of party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and brother of former Union minister of state Harsimrat Kaur Badal. 

He had earlier denied all charges against him, terming the registration of the FIR against Majithia as “political vendetta”.

The 49-page FIR was registered by the state Crime Branch at its Mohali police station.

“To target the applicant/petitioner is one of the major election planks of the current government. To fulfil its election stunt, the Congress government of the State of Punjab has been day and night browbeating officers to register false cases against the senior leadership of the Shiromani Akali Dal, including the applicant/petitioner,” PTI quoted the bail plea as submitting.

The petitioner had also contended that three DGPs and three Directors of Bureau of Investigation were changed while claiming that police officers were coerced to falsely implicate the applicant.

Meanwhile, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa targetted AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal after the court on anticipatory bail plea.

“Kejriwal said that Punjab’s case is weak. I hope he got his answer, the Court didn’t even give bail to Bikram Singh Majithia. Now he should answer if he considers Majithia a drug smuggler. Our government has a zero-tolerance for drugs”: Sukhjinder Randhawa told news agency ANI.

(With Agency Inputs)