Punjab governor sanctions SAD leader Bikram Majithia’s prosecution in DA case

Chandigarh: Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria has granted sanction to prosecute former minister and SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a disproportionate assets case filed by the state Vigilance Bureau.

On September 8, the Punjab Cabinet granted prosecution sanction against the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader, currently lodged in the New Nabha Jail in Patiala, under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The state advocate general had earlier said that granting prosecution sanction against the former minister needed to be discussed by the council of ministers and thereafter, the matter would be sent to the governor for the passing of a formal order.

After the recommendation made by the Punjab Cabinet, the approval to prosecute Majithia has been issued under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, sources said Saturday.

The Vigilance Bureau arrested Majithia on June 25 in the disproportionate assets (DA) case allegedly involving the laundering of Rs 540 crore of “drug money”.

On August 22, the Vigilance Bureau filed a chargesheet running into more than 40,000 pages at a Mohali court in the DA case.

In the FIR registered against Majithia, the Bureau claimed that preliminary investigation revealed that more than Rs 540 crore of “drug money” had been laundered through several channels allegedly facilitated by Majithia.

The FIR stemmed from an ongoing investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Punjab Police into a 2021 drug case.

In 2021, Majithia was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act based on a 2018 report by the anti-drug SIT.

Majithia spent more than five months in Patiala jail before walking out of prison in August 2022 after the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him bail.