Mohali
A Mohali court on Friday deferred the hearing on a plea seeking a change of jail barrack for Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia to August 2. Majithia is currently lodged in Nabha jail.
Majithia, who was arrested by the Punjab vigilance bureau (VB) on June 25 from his Amritsar residence, faces charges of having assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
During the proceedings in the court of additional district and sessions judge Hardeep Singh, the jail authorities submitted their reply in a sealed envelope, in line with the court’s previous direction.
The court also reserved its decision on Majithia’s bail plea in the same case till July 30, after public prosecutors sought additional time to respond.
A separate petition concerning the barrack change — citing security concerns — was also heard.
Majithia is being represented by advocates Arshdeep Singh Kler, Damanvir Singh Sobti and Harneet Singh Dhanoa, while government counsels Preet Inderpal Singh and Ferry Sofat appeared on behalf of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB).
Speaking to the media, advocate Kler criticised the repeated delays by the vigilance department, stating that the bail plea had already been partially heard on July 22, and the department had been granted extensions on two prior occasions. He also referred to Section 20 of the jail manual, noting that jail authorities submitted their sealed reply regarding the barrack change at 2.30 pm and urged the court to provide a copy for scrutiny.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking to the media, advocate Kler criticised the repeated delays by the vigilance department, stating that the bail plea had already been partially heard on July 22, and the department had been granted extensions on two prior occasions. He also referred to Section 20 of the jail manual, noting that jail authorities submitted their sealed reply regarding the barrack change at 2.30 pm and urged the court to provide a copy for scrutiny.
{{/usCountry}}The court further directed the additional director general of police (ADGP), jails, to submit a written response regarding the categorization of Majithia under the “orange category” of the jail manual.
Senior officials, including AIG Swarandeep Singh and representatives from the jail department, were present during the proceedings. Majithia is expected to appear again before the Mohali court on August 2, when the barrack-related petition will be taken up for arguments.
At the previous hearing on July 22, the court had considered three of Majithia’s petitions—including a request for the grounds of his arrest and a copy of the jail manual. While those documents were provided, no final ruling was made on either the bail or barrack matters.
Government counsel argued that Majithia had not filed any formal complaint with the jail superintendent regarding threats to his safety and maintained that adequate security arrangements were already in place. They also cited the voluminous nature of the bail application—spanning 630 pages—as the reason for seeking more time to submit a comprehensive response.
The court will now resume the bail hearing on July 30, followed by the barrack change plea on August 2.
The disproportionate assets case against Majithia stems from an ongoing investigation by a special investigation team (SIT) of the Punjab Police, which is also probing his alleged involvement in the 2021 drug case.
Majithia had earlier been booked under the NDPS Act, based on a 2018 report submitted by the state’s Anti-Drug Special Task Force (STF). He spent over five months in Patiala Jail before being granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana high court in August 2022.