Mohali court sends Majithia aide Harpreet Gulati to judicial custody, denies further police remand

The Mohali court observed that the investigating agency had already been given sufficient opportunity to interrogate the accused and that Gulati had cooperated with the probe

A Mohali court on Wednesday sent Harpreet Singh Gulati, a close aide of former Shiromani Akali Dal minister Bikram Singh Majithia, to judicial custody after rejecting the Vigilance Bureau’s plea for further police remand in a disproportionate assets case.

Harpreet Gulati was produced before the court after completion of his earlier police custody. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Gulati was produced before the court after completion of his earlier police custody. The Vigilance Bureau sought an extension of remand, stating that Gulati had submitted certain documents claiming a transaction of ₹4.90 crore between him and Saraya Industries Limited, a company promoted by the Majithia family in 2008, but failed to explain the source of the funds.

The prosecution argued that further custodial interrogation was necessary to obtain Gulati’s bank statements for 2008-09, income tax returns and other account books to carry the investigation forward.

During the hearing, the special public prosecutor, assisted by the investigating officer, told the court that the document handed over by the accused was not a complete income tax return but only an acknowledgment. The agency maintained that the required financial records were still missing.

Opposing the plea, Gulati’s counsel argued that the accused had fully cooperated with the investigation during police remand and had answered all queries raised by the investigating officer. The defence submitted that the account books sought by the agency were not in Gulati’s possession but with his accountant, who was currently absconding. It was further argued that the investigating agency could obtain any available records from Gulati’s chartered accountant in Amritsar.

After hearing both sides and examining the case record, the court observed that the investigating agency had already been given sufficient opportunity to interrogate the accused and that Gulati had cooperated with the probe. The court noted that the remaining evidence sought was documentary in nature and not in the custody of the accused.

In view of these facts, the court declined to grant further police remand and ordered that Gulati be sent to judicial custody. He will next be produced before the court on January 17 through video conferencing. The court clarified that the order would not restrict the Vigilance Bureau from continuing further investigation in the case.