Punjab governor sanctions prosecution of Bikram Majithia in corruption case

Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former minister Majithia was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau from his Amritsar residence on June 25, in connection with the disproportionate assets case linked to the alleged laundering of ₹540 crore in drug money.

Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria has granted sanction to prosecute Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia in a disproportionate assets case filed by the Vigilance Bureau.

The Punjab governor has granted sanction to prosecute Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia in a disproportionate assets case filed by the Vigilance Bureau.

This clears the way for the VB to initiate criminal proceedings against Majithia under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

According to sources in the Punjab Raj Bhavan, the approval was issued under Section 19 of the Act, following a recommendation by the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab cabinet based on the VB’s findings and legal advice from the advocate general’s office.

Majithia, a three-time MLA from Majitha and former revenue minister, is accused of possessing assets worth over ₹700 crore, disproportionate to his declared income by 1,200%, allegedly acquired through the laundering of ₹540 crore linked to a 2013 drug trafficking network.

The SAD leader was arrested on June 25 after the VB seized digital devices, property documents and financial records after simultaneous raids on his Amritsar residence and 25 other locations. The next day, a Mohali court sent him to seven days’ police custody after which he was remanded in judicial custody on July 6.

The VB filed a 40,000-page chargesheet before the Mohali sessions court on August 22.

This case stems from an ongoing probe into a 2021 drug case, for which Majithia was booked under the NDPS Act, based on a 2018 anti-drug task force report. He spent over five months in Patiala jail before securing bail in August 2022.

Majithia has rejected the allegations as politically motivated.

His regular bail was denied in August, though he secured interim relief from the Punjab and Haryana high court in September.

The trial is set to proceed in the Mohali sessions court.