Supreme Court to hear plea against bail to Bikram Singh Majithia in drug case in 4 weeks

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 7

The Punjab Government’s appeal against a Punjab and Haryana High Court order granting bail to senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a drug case will be taken up for hearing after four weeks, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday.

“It will be difficult to pass over the case today. We will rather list it for hearing after four weeks,” a Bench led by Justice Aniruddha Bose said after being requested for a passover as senior counsel Shyam Divan, who was to represent the government, was busy in some other court.

Majithia, brother-in-law of Sukhbir Badal and brother of former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, was booked on the basis of a 2018 report of the anti-drug special task force (STF) on a drug racket in the state. The report was based on confessional statements given to the Enforcement Directorate by some accused, including Jagjit Chahal, Jagdish Singh Bhola and Maninder Singh Aulakh.

The government has challenged the August 10, 2022, order of the HC following which Majithia was released from the Patiala jail after spending more than five months there in the drug case.

The HC had said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that he was not guilty even as it clarified that its observation was only for deciding the bail application and the trial court should proceed independently of the observations made by it. The HC had said Majithia shall travel abroad only with permission of this court and shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence.

Earlier, the SC had directed the Punjab Police not to arrest Majithia till February 23, 2022, in the drug case to enable him to take part in the election campaign. However, it had directed him to surrender before the trial court after that.

Booked on basis of 2018 report

• Bikram Majithia was booked on the basis of a 2018 report of the anti-drug special task force on a drug racket in the state
• It was based on confessional statements given to ED by some accused

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