Supreme Court Directs Bikram Singh Majithia To Appear Before SIT In Drugs Case

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court directed Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia to present himself before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for questioning in a drugs case on 17 March at 11 AM.

If needed, officials may summon him again on 18 March at the same time.

A bench comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and Aravind Kumar issued the directive while hearing an appeal by the Punjab government challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s decision to grant bail to Majithia in the case.

The court has scheduled the next hearing for March 24.

Punjab’s Advocate General, Gurminder Singh, argued for the cancellation of Majithia’s bail, stating that he was not cooperating with the investigation and was avoiding responding to critical questions.

Majithia’s counsel countered the claim, asserting that the case was politically motivated and urged the court to set specific dates for interrogation.

Majithia had secured bail from the Punjab and Haryana High Court in August 2022, after surrendering following the end of a protection period granted earlier.

The Supreme Court had previously provided Majithia protection from arrest on 31 January 2022, allowing him to contest the 20 February assembly elections as a SAD candidate from the Amritsar East constituency.

The protection lasted until February 2023.

Following the elections, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann took charge and, on 20 March 2022, restructured the SIT probing the case, expanding it from a three-member to a four-member team.

The investigation stems from an FIR registered against Majithia under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on 20 December 2021.

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