Bikram Majithia surrenders before Mohali court in drug case

|HT|

Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia on Thursday surrendered before a Mohali court following directions of the Supreme Court in the drug case registered against him in December last year. Majithia surrendered before the court at 11.10am and applied for regular bail on the directions of the apex court, which while conducting a hearing on his bail application granted stay on his arrest till February 24.

The trial court has started arguments over Majithia’s bail plea, it is learnt.

On January 31, a bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli asked Majithia to surrender before the trial court concerned on February 23 and apply for regular bail.

Majithia was booked under Sections 25 (punishment for allowing premises), 27 (A) (whoever is financing any activities pertaining to narcotic drugs) and 29 (party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on December 20. On December 24, the Mohali court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea following which he moved the Punjab and Haryana high court.

On January 10, the high court asked him to join probe on January 12 and gave him interim protection. A day after this, Majithia, who remained underground for 20 days, surfaced and joined the probe.

On January 25, the high court dismissed the regular bail to Majithia following which he moved the Supreme Court.

Majithia, who is the brother-in-law of Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal and the brother of former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, contested as the SAD candidate from Amritsar East segment against Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu in the Punjab assembly elections on February 20.

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