Drugs Case: Punjab & Haryana High Court Grants Interim Protection To Akali Leader Bikram Singh Majithia

Sparsh Upadhyay

10 Jan 2022 12:38 PM GMT

  • Drugs Case: Punjab & Haryana High Court Grants Interim Protection To Akali Leader Bikram Singh Majithia

    The Punjab and Haryana High Court today granted interim protection from arrest to Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia in Drugs Case on the condition that he shall co-operate in the police probe. A detailed order in this regard is awaited. The Bench of Justice Lisa Gill granted him interim protection while dealing with his anticipatory bail plea in a case registered against him by...

    The Punjab and Haryana High Court today granted interim protection from arrest to Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia in Drugs Case on the condition that he shall co-operate in the police probe. A detailed order in this regard is awaited. 

    The Bench of Justice Lisa Gill granted him interim protection while dealing with his anticipatory bail plea in a case registered against him by the Punjab Police last month under Sections 25 (allowing premises etc to be used for commission of an offence under the Act), 27A (financing illicit traffic and harboring offenders), and 29 (abetment and criminal conspiracy) of the Narcotic Drugs And Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

    After a Mohali court dismissed Majithia's anticipatory bail plea, he had moved the High Court contending that there is an inexplicable delay in lodging of the FIR and the FIR itself could not have been lodged because if at all, any material had indeed surfaced against the petitioner, it was incumbent upon the authorities to have firstly sought permission of the competent Court before proceeding against him.

    In the last hearing of the matter, appearing for Majithia, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi had argued before the Court that the matter was being investigated both by the Enforcement Directorate (E.D) and the Special Task Force (STF) as well as the Committee constituted under orders of the Court, but no action for all these long years was taken against the petitioner.

    Lastly, it was submitted that registration of the present FIR was vitiated by political and ulterior motives and it was asserted that Majithia had no criminal record and is a mainstream politician and he also undertook to join the investigation, fully cooperate with the investigating agency and abide by any conditions which may be imposed by this Court.

    However, in the last hearing, the Court had not granted him any interim relief, and instead sought the response of the Punjab Government and had posted the matter for further hearing today.

    A notice of motion has been issued by the Bench and it was accepted by senior Deputy Advocate-General Gaurav Garg Dhuriwala on behalf of the respondent-State.

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