The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Punjab government not to arrest Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a drug case until Monday.
As a judge led by India’s Chief Justice N.V. Ramana agreed to hear Majithia’s appeal against the Punjab and Haryana high courts rejecting expected bail, it said the state should wait until Monday to hear the matter.
The matter was raised by senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi representing Majithia for an urgent listing before the bench, which includes judges AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli.
“This is a political vendetta. They want him to be arrested during the election rush,” Rohatgi complained, assisted by a team of lawyers at law firm Karanjawala & Co.
“What election fever, Mr Rohaji? It’s an election virus. Now everyone is rushing to court,” the bench retorted.
Rohatgi sought an interim order to protect his client from arrest until the next hearing. He added that Majithia’s prospective bail application was rejected on January 24 and he was only given three days of protection. It was due to expire on Thursday while protection was sought, he added.
P Chidambaram, a senior advocate for the Punjab government, claimed that Majithia had been in hiding since the High Court denied him relief.
The bench told Chidambaram that the state should not take any enforcement action against Majithia as the Supreme Court has agreed to include his matter in the hearing. “Mr Chidambaram, tell your state not to do anything until we hear him,” the bench said.
Chidambaram said he would pass the court’s message to state authorities.
The rejection of Majithia’s bail request came a day before Punjab began submitting nomination papers. Majithia plans to compete in the Majitha constituency in the Amritsar district.
Majithia, who is facing a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, was granted provisional High Court bail earlier on condition that he will cooperate with the investigation.
The state government objected to the continuation of the relief before the High Court argued that Majithia did not cooperate fully during the investigation.
Majithia claims the case is against him in light of the election. He added that the sole purpose of registering it was to detain him and torture him.
In an appeal to the Supreme Court, Magitia called the case a blatant abuse of power and linked it to pre-election political retaliation. He insists there is no solid evidence against him and that he has been cooperating with investigators.
Complete News Source : Hindustan Times
