SC REJECTS SAD LEADER MAJITHIA’S PLEA SEEKING QUASHING OF FIRS

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea filed by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia seeking quashing of cases registered against him by the Punjab Police under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

A Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant asked Majithia to move the division bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court for relief. “We are not inclined to entertain the petition under Article 32. But we allow the petitioner to approach the High Court or any other bench. We direct that the petition be heard by the High Court’s division bench only and not the single bench,” the apex court stated in its order.

The apex court on January 31 had granted protection to Majithia from arrest till February 23 in view of the February 20 assembly polls to contest as a SAD candidate from the Amritsar East assembly constituency. He had surrendered after the expiry of the protection period.

Majithia – a former minister in the state – said the cases were politically motivated, contending they had already been investigated by high-ranking police officers.

On March 20, in his first orders to Punjab Police after assuming charge, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann had reconstituted the four members Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the drugs case against Majithia.

The previous SIT was a three-member team. The SIT was formed to probe allegations against Majithia based on an FIR lodged under various sections of the NDPS Act on December 20, 2021.