The North News
New Delhi, February 2
The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a disproportionate assets case. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the order while hearing Majithia’s plea challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order which denied him bail in the case.
The top court noted that Majithia is in custody in the case for last seven months. In its December 4 last year order, the high court dismissed Majithia’s bail plea, observing that the possibility of him influencing the investigation could not be ruled out.
While directing the Punjab Vigilance Bureau to complete its probe within three months, the high court had said Majithia can thereafter seek his release on bail. The Punjab Vigilance Bureau had arrested Majithia on June 25 last year in the disproportionate assets case that allegedly involved accumulation of Rs 540 crore of wealth.
The FIR against Majithia stems from an ongoing probe being conducted by a Punjab Police special investigation team into a 2021 drug case. During the hearing before the top court, senior advocate S Muralidhar, appearing for Majithia, had argued that petitioner was earlier granted bail in a case registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. He had said the top court had dismissed the Punjab government’s plea challenging the bail granted to him.
