Supreme Court on Thursday granted protection against arrest to Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia till Monday. He was charged under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act last month.
Majithia has challenged an order passed by Punjab and Haryana High Court wherein his anticipatory bail plea was dismissed.
Punjab and Haryana High Court had set a deadline for the arrest of Majithia which ended today on January 27. Therefore, the Akali Dal leader had moved Supreme Court.
Supreme Court has agreed to hear the petition on Monday and has directed the state government not to take any action in the meantime.
He had accused Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa of hatching a conspiracy against him.
Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Majithia, submitted that this is a case of political vendetta.
“I don’t know if this is election fever or election virus. Everyone is rushing to the court now,” CJI Ramana said.
“Is this fair, Mr. Chidambaram? The order was passed on 24th January. Thereafter he went into hiding. Tell your state not to do anything. We will hear on Monday,” CJI to senior advocate P Chidambaram who is representing the state.
Majithia was charged under NDPS Act on the ground of a 2018 report into a drugs ring in Punjab. The report was submitted by Harpreet Singh Sandhu led anti-drug racket special force in Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2018.
