New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia in connection with a disproportionate assets (DA) case registered by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta granted the relief after taking note of the fact that Majithia had already been granted bail in the predicate Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act case.
The Justice Nath-led Bench also noted that the special leave petition (SLP) filed by the Punjab government against the NDPS bail was dismissed in 2025.
“Considering the fact that the petitioner was granted bail in the earlier NDPS matter in 2022, against which the special leave petition filed by the State of Punjab was dismissed in 2025, and the police report has already been filed, and further noting that the disproportionate assets case pertains to the period from 2006 to 2017 whereas the FIR has been registered in 2025, we grant bail,” the apex court observed.
Majithia was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on June 25 last year. His judicial custody was extended periodically.
Within 59 days of his arrest, the Vigilance Bureau filed a voluminous 40,000-page chargesheet in a Mohali court, alleging the discovery of Rs 700 crore in illegal assets.
The chargesheet cited statements of around 200 witnesses, detailed nearly 400 bank accounts, and referred to raids conducted across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
Statements of several Akali Dal and BJP leaders were also recorded during the probe.
Earlier, a Mohali court had rejected Majithia’s bail plea after conducting day-to-day hearings for nearly 10 days, holding that the investigation was still underway and the allegations were of a serious nature.
The Vigilance Bureau has alleged that Majithia laundered more than Rs 540 crore of drug money, relying on investigations carried out by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the 2021 FIR under the NDPS Act, as well as its own inquiry into the DA case.
(IANS)
