A Mohali court on Saturday extended the judicial custody of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia till August 2 in the disproportionate assets (DA) case registered against him. Majithia, a former Punjab minister, was produced before the court amid heightened security arrangements.
Public Prosecutor Ferry Sofat confirmed the extension of custody, stating that the court allowed the prosecution’s application. Majithia had been sent to judicial custody on July 6 following the end of his four-day vigilance remand, which was preceded by a seven-day remand.
Majithia, currently lodged in New Nabha Jail, was brought to the Mohali court for the hearing. His counsel, Advocate Damanbir Singh Sobti, expressed concern over his client’s safety, stating that he is being kept with two other inmates—one facing a death sentence for murdering three minors and another accused of sexually assaulting a minor boy.
Sobti also alleged that the Vigilance Bureau retracted its claim of Majithia owning 1,000 acres in Himachal Pradesh. He criticized the authorities for not allowing SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and other party leaders to meet Majithia in jail.
Majithia’s wife and SAD MLA Ganieve Kaur Majithia lashed out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, accusing it of using political vendetta to target her husband. Defending her absence from the Punjab Assembly’s special session, she accused the AAP government of suppressing opposition voices and ignoring urgent public issues.
Meanwhile, the Vigilance Bureau carried out fresh raids at properties allegedly linked to Majithia and his family in Delhi (including Sainik Farm), Chandigarh, and other locations. Sources said technical teams accompanied officials to collect digital and documentary evidence.
Majithia has challenged his arrest and remand in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which is scheduled to hear the matter on July 29. He has also filed a bail application and a request to shift his jail barrack, with the Mohali court set to hear the plea on July 22.
The Vigilance Bureau arrested Majithia on June 25 in connection with laundering over ₹540 crore of alleged “drug money.” The FIR, registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, is based on an ongoing probe by a Punjab Police Special Investigation Team into a 2021 NDPS case, which in turn stemmed from a 2018 anti-drug Special Task Force report.
Majithia had earlier spent over five months in Patiala jail in the 2021 NDPS case before securing bail from the Punjab and Haryana High Court in August 2022.
