New Delhi: A Mohali court on Friday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia, news agency PTI reported.
Bikram Majithia had moved the court on Thursday after a case was registered in the drug case. Along with the case, a lookout circular was also issued against him.
The bail plea was filed by Bikram Majithia’s lawyer DS Sobti, who informed reporters outside the court that the Additional Sessions Judge “has dismissed the petition”.
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In his petition, the Shiromani Akali Dal leader had submitted that the Congress government in the state had “leaved no stone unturned in abusing its powers and position to seek vengeance from its political opponents”.
“In this case, though, from the facts, the applicant has tried to make a case of political vendetta, but the applicant himself was one of the powerful persons in the politics of the State till the year 2017 and delay in registering the FIR cannot be a ground.” To hold that the entire case against the applicant is false,” said the court order, as quoted by PTI.
The court also said that even the question of validity of the FIR cannot be a ground for granting anticipatory bail.
The court said the FIR has been registered on the basis of the report, which prima facie “shows the applicant’s involvement in drug trade” and “harassed” the accused involved.
It further states that “all these facts and the extent of financial transactions and complicity of the applicant should be thoroughly investigated, which can be done only under custodial interrogation of the applicant and not under the protection of anticipatory bail”. “.
Therefore, keeping in view all the facts and the gravity of the offence, it is not a suitable case where the benefit of anticipatory bail can be given to the applicant.
“Accordingly, in the absence of any merit in the bail application, it is dismissed. However, any remarks made herein before this shall not affect the merits of the case.”
Bikram Singh Majithia Alleges “Political Vendetta”
On Monday, Bikram Singh Majithia was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on the basis of a 2018 investigation report of a drug racket in the state.
The Shiromani Akali Dal leader is the brother-in-law of party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and brother of former Union Minister of State Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
He had earlier denied all the allegations against him, terming the registration of the FIR against Majithia as “political vendetta”.
The state crime branch had registered a 49-page FIR at its Mohali police station.
“Targeting the applicant/petitioner is one of the major election issues of the present government. To complete its election stunt, the Congress government of Punjab state is harassing the officials day and night for registering false cases including the applicant/petitioner against the senior leadership of Shiromani Akali Dal.
The petitioner had also argued that three DGPs and three directors of the Bureau of Investigation were changed, while claiming that the police officers were forced to falsely implicate the applicant.
Meanwhile, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa hit out at AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal after the court over anticipatory bail plea.
Kejriwal said that the case of Punjab is weak. I hope they got their answer, the court did not even grant bail to Bikram Singh Majithia. Now he must answer whether he considers Majithia to be a drug smuggler. Our government has zero tolerance for drugs”: Sukhjinder Randhawa told news agency ANI.
(with agency input)
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