On Monday, the Supreme Court reprimanded the Punjab government for the consistent non-appearance of its panel advocates, highlighting a pattern of absenteeism that spans both criminal and civil cases. Justices J K Maheshwari and Aravind Kumar expressed their frustration during a session concerning a plea from the state government against the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s decision to grant bail to former minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia.
“Mr. Advocate General of Punjab, we have already called you in one case. In your state, even after service of notice, your panel advocates in the Supreme Court are not appearing. We have already referred in two orders. This is everyday drama. State of Punjab means absent. It is happening not only in criminal cases but civil cases also. Nobody is appearing,” the bench remarked pointedly during the hearing.
The apex court’s comments came as they adjourned the hearing by two weeks at the request of the Punjab government, which sought additional time to prepare. Punjab’s Advocate General, Gurminder Singh, issued an apology to the court for the ongoing issue and assured that such negligence would not recur.
The case in question involves Bikram Singh Majithia, a prominent political figure from the SAD, who was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on August 10, 2022. The Supreme Court had previously ordered Majithia to appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headquarters in Patiala, which is investigating his involvement in a drug case. Despite claims from the Punjab government of non-cooperation on Majithia’s part, the High Court found “reasonable grounds” to believe in his innocence concerning the bail plea, though it emphasized that the trial court should proceed independently.
Majithia, who is closely related to significant political figures in Punjab, including SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and former union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, had spent over five months in Patiala Jail connected to the allegations. He was booked following a 2018 report by an anti-drug special task force (STF), which investigated a drug racket in the state based on confessional statements from several accused individuals.
