Bikramjit Singh Majithia Did Not File Proper Plea To Challenge Remand Order In Alleged Illegal Arrest Case: Punjab Government Tells High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday refused to grant any relief to former cabinet minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia a senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader in his alleged “illegal arrest" and subsequent remand in his ongoing disproportionate assets and corruption case.The Punjab Vigilance Bureau arrested Majithia on June 25 in the Disproportionate Assets case allegedly involving laundering of Rs 540 crore of "drug money". A Mohali court on July 2 extended Majithia's remand by four days.During the hearing, the Advocate General (AG) of Punjab Maninderjit Singh Bedi raised an objection that proper application has not been filed by the petitioner and it was only an application for placing on record of the subsequent remand order. The AG pointed out that the petitioner had alleged in the application that it was moved “in pursuance of the verbal directions of this Hon'ble Court.”Refuting the claim, the AG highlighted that no such direction, oral or written, was ever issued by the Court in its last order on July 3. On the contrary, the said order merely recorded that the matter was adjourned at the request of the learned counsel for the petitioner. The actual direction of the Court was limited to permitting the petitioner to move an application for placing on record the remand order, once the same was uploaded on the official website. However, "instead of complying with this clear directive, the petitioner chose to file an entirely different application seeking to substitute the original petition with an amended one, without obtaining leave of the Court or following the prescribed procedure under criminal law," the AG added.Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya hearing the case dismissed the plea as withdrawn and posted the case for July 8 and asked AG Punjab in the meantime to seek instruction on the matter.Challenging the remand order in his plea Majithia submitted that the case was a result of “political witch-hunting and vendetta initiated by the present political dispensation with the sole object of maligning and harassing him, as he has been a vocal critic and political opponent”.He added that the remand application filed by the investigating agency “lacked concrete or urgent investigative grounds and merely relied on broad, speculative allegations such as the petitioner's alleged influence, foreign connections, and general statements about the need to confront him with documents or digital devices”.It further stated that there was non-application of judicial mind, and the stark disregard of binding judicial precedent and procedural safeguards not only vitiated the remand order but also constituted a gross violation of the petitioner's fundamental rights under Articles 14, 20, and 21 of the Constitution.

Bikramjit Singh Majithia Did Not File Proper Plea To Challenge Remand Order In Alleged Illegal Arrest Case: Punjab Government Tells High Court

Aiman J. Chishti

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