Chandigarh, June 25 (IANS) The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Wednesday conducted a raid on the private residence of Shiromani Akali Dal’s former minister Bikram Singh Majithia in Amritsar in a drug case.

He has been facing charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act since December 2021, ahead of the Assembly elections.

A spokesperson for the government said the raid has been underway as part of the Bhagwant Mann government’s biggest ongoing action against drugs. A team of 30 Vigilance personnel, comprising senior officials, reached the residence when Majithia and his family were present there.

Former legislator Majithia, who is the brother-in-law of Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Badal, had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2022 after a Mohali trial court dismissed his anticipatory bail petition in a case under the NDPS Act registered on December 20, 2021.

In a 49-page FIR filed by the state police Crime Branch at the Mohali police station, the SAD leader has been booked under sections 25, 27A and 29 of the NDPS Act.

In his plea, Majithia had termed the case a result of “political vendetta” and argued that there was no credible and legally admissible material against him.

The court, however, had granted an interim bail but allowed the Special Investigation Team to interrogate Majithia.

The High Court had observed that there was no material placed on record showing possession, transportation, storage by or recovery of any contraband from Majithia.

“All recoveries in the concluded trials have been effected from specific individuals and the petitioner was not shown therein to have any role in that regard,” it had observed, referring to convictions of drug seizure cases of Jagdish Bola and others.

However, the High Court clarified in the 26-page judgment that the court’s opinion was tentative and was made only for deciding his bail application and should not be construed as an expression of a “final opinion”.

In March 2025, the Supreme Court had directed Majithia to appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in Patiala after the state government reported that he was refusing to cooperate with the probe. However, in April, the apex court dismissed the petition filed by Punjab, challenging the bail granted to Majithia.

“The respondent (Majithia) was participating in the process of further investigation. In view of the said facts and also taking note that the liberty was granted on August 10, 2022, more than two-and-a-half years ago, at present, we are not inclined to interfere with the impugned order. Accordingly, the SLP stands dismissed,” observed a Bench comprising Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Aravind Kumar, rejecting the state’s petition.

–IANS

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