Chandigarh, January 20
On interim bail in a drugs-related case, senior Akali leader Bikram Majithia has moved an application before the Punjab and Haryana High Court alleging, among other things, that the purpose behind seeking his custody was not for “furthering any impartial investigation, but to humiliate and torture him in custody”.
In his application filed through counsel D.S. Sobti and Arshdeep Singh Cheema for placing on record “additional facts and documents”, Majithia submitted: “The extracts of the statements made by Navjot Singh Sidhu, president, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), would show that the sole intention of registering the FIR is to take him in custody and commit third degree torture upon him. Further the investigation conducted so far is patently opaque, partisan, politically motivated and unprofessional.”
Majithia also placed on record order dated December 27, 2021, issued by then DGP Siddhartha Chattopadhyaya exercising special powers to out-of-turn promote sub-inspector Princepreet Singh as inspector. “This particular SI is son of Balraj Singh, AIG, who is head of the SIT formed to investigate the present case by Sidharth Chattopadhyaya. The inducement by Chattopadhyaya to Balraj Singh to investigate in the most unfair and partisan manner is, thus, writ large.”
Majithia also referred to the statement made by Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on December 23, “irresponsibly blaming” him for the bomb blast at the Ludhiana district court as his bail application was being heard by the sessions’ court at Mohali. He added Channi also made a statement that the FIR against Majithia was registered on the High Court’s directions, which was patently wrong and contemptuous, he added.
Referring to the statement Jagdish Singh alias Bhola recorded under section 161 CrPC, Majithia added it nowhere disclosed that he ever had any conversation with him. “Most of his statements under Section 161 CrPC state that he was falsely implicated in the case and the recoveries made from him were maliciously planted. Does the State of Punjab accept his plea of innocence incorporated in the statement being relied upon? It is a very unfortunate situation where the State wants to reject the substantial part of the statement and cherry-pick a part which suits the prosecution through patently inadmissible,” Majithia submitted.
