The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday directed the Punjab Advocate General to respond to Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia’s petition challenging his arrest and remand in a disproportionate assets (DA) case linked to alleged laundering of ₹540 crore in drug money.
Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya, while hearing the matter, deferred further proceedings to July 8 without granting any interim relief to the SAD leader. The court also asked Advocate General Maninderjit Singh Bedi to seek instructions on the issues raised in Majithia’s plea.
Speaking to the media after the hearing, Majithia’s counsel Arshdeep Singh Kler said, “The AG himself appeared in court. He has been directed to take instructions on what the petition is and what the petitioner’s grievance is.” The High Court further asked for the amended remand order to be placed on record. Kler noted that while a remand order dated July 5 had earlier been submitted, it was later revised to reflect the date as July 6.
Majithia was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on June 25 in connection with the DA case and was initially remanded to seven days’ custody by a Mohali court on June 26. On July 2, his remand was extended by four more days. The VB has alleged that the former cabinet minister played a key role in laundering over ₹540 crore of drug money through various channels.
The SAD leader approached the High Court on July 1, contending that his arrest was a product of “political witch-hunting and vendetta.” He sought the quashing of his arrest and remand orders, calling the FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, “patently illegal” and violative of settled legal procedures.
In his petition, Majithia submitted that the remand application lacked any concrete investigative urgency and relied on speculative assertions regarding his influence, alleged foreign links, and vague claims about needing to confront him with documents and digital evidence. He also cited a March 4 Supreme Court order that had denied the state’s plea for his custodial interrogation in a related matter, despite similar allegations being raised.
Majithia further argued that the present proceedings raise serious concerns over abuse of process, misuse of remand powers, and violations of the right to fair investigation and liberty.
The fresh FIR in the DA case is rooted in findings from an ongoing probe by the Punjab Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the 2021 drug case. Majithia had earlier been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in 2021 based on a 2018 report by the anti-drug Special Task Force. He was incarcerated for over five months in Patiala Jail before being granted bail by the High Court in August 2022.
