Hearing on Bikram Majithia's Plea Postponed to July 29

Chandigarh, July 8 (PTI): The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday postponed the hearing on Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia’s plea regarding his arrest and subsequent remand in a disproportionate assets case to July 29. When the case was called, Majithia's legal team requested three weeks to file an amended petition, prompting the court to grant this time and schedule the next hearing date. Earlier, Majithia had challenged his arrest and remand in the case lodged by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB). The state's attorney, Ferry Sofat, confirmed that Majithia's lawyers sought additional time for filing the amended plea. Majithia was arrested on June 25 by the Punjab VB in relation to the DA case, which allegedly involves the laundering of Rs 540 crore in drug money. On July 1, Majithia approached the High Court, terming the DA case a "political witch-hunt" aimed at retaliating against his criticism of the current government. The former minister was committed to judicial custody on July 6 following initial and extended vigilance remands ordered by a Mohali court. Majithia’s petition seeks relief from what he describes as his "illegal" arrest and remand, challenged under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The petition argues that his prosecution results from a political vendetta designed to malign him. It alleges that both the FIR and the arrest are illegal, violating established legal procedures, raising critical legal questions over the misuse of criminal processes, remand powers, and rights to fair investigation and liberty. Majithia is seeking to nullify the remand order and obtain measures to prevent further procedural "abuse." The FIR claims preliminary investigations uncovered over Rs 540 crore of laundered drug money with alleged facilitation by Majithia. The case against him originates from a Punjab Police special investigation team’s ongoing probe into a 2021 drug-related case where Majithia was charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, spurred by a 2018 anti-drug Special Task Force report. He was incarcerated in Patiala jail for over five months before being released on bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in August 2022.

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