Punjab: HC to hear SAD leader Majithia’s plea against his arrest, remand on Jul 4

CHANDIGARH, July 3: The Punjab and Haryana High Court will hear on Friday Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia’s plea against his arrest and subsequent remand in a disproportionate assets case registered against him by the Vigilance Bureau.
The matter came up before the bench of Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya, who adjourned the hearing for a day to allow Majithia’s counsel to place a fresh remand order of the former Akali minister issued in the case.
Majithia’s counsel Arshdeep Singh Kler said they have challenged the arrest by the Vigilance Bureau (VB) and his remand order by a Mohali court.
The court directed for placing Majithia’s fresh remand order on record, he said, adding that the case will now be heard on Friday.
Majithia was sent to a seven-day vigilance remand by the Mohali court on June 26.
The court Wednesday extended the remand by four more days after his seven-day remand ended.
The VB on June 25 arrested Majithia in the DA case allegedly involving laundering of Rs 540 crore of “drug money”.
Majithia on July 1 moved the high court, calling the arrest “political witch-hunting and vendetta” for being a vocal critic of the current dispensation.
In his petition, he sought appropriate relief against “illegal” arrest and subsequent remand granted in the FIR registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
“The said FIR is a result of political witch-hunting and vendetta, initiated by the present political dispensation with the sole object of maligning and harassing the petitioner who has been a vocal critic and political opponent,” the petition said.
He submitted that the FIR registered against him is “patently illegal” while his arrest was carried out in “gross violation of settled legal procedures”.
“The remand application filed by the investigating agency (VB) lacked any concrete or urgent investigative ground and merely relied on broad, speculative allegations such as the petitioner’s alleged influence, foreign connections, and general statements about the need to confront him with documents or digital devices,” the plea said.
Majithia submitted that the Supreme Court, by its detailed order on March 4, had refused custodial interrogation of the petitioner despite the same allegations being pressed before it via multiple affidavits filed by the Punjab government.
The present petition, therefore, raises important questions of law and principle concerning abuse of criminal process, misuse of remand powers, and the right to fair investigation and liberty, it stated.
Majithia prayed for appropriate reliefs, including quashing of the illegal remand order and appropriate directions to prevent further “abuse” of process.
In the fresh FIR registered against Majithia, the VB claimed that preliminary investigations revealed that more than Rs 540 crore of “drug money” has been laundered through several ways and it was allegedly facilitated by Majithia.
This FIR against Majithia stems from an ongoing investigation being conducted by a Punjab Police special investigation team into the 2021 drug case.
In 2021, Majithia was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The action was taken on the basis of a 2018 report of the anti-drug Special Task Force.
Majithia spent more than five months in Patiala jail and walked out of prison in August 2022 after the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him bail. (PTI)

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