Chandigarh, June 15: The Additional District and Sessions Judge on Monday granted bail to senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia, along with his associates Jodh Singh Samra and Jatinder Pal Singh. The legal relief comes in connection with a case registered over an alleged confrontation at the Majitha police station.
Prior to this development, Majithia’s legal advisor Bikramjit Bath, who was also named in the initial First Information Report, was discharged from the case. The Special Investigation Team informed the court that Bath was not required in the matter. Bath, a practicing lawyer, had accompanied the former minister in his professional capacity to secure a copy of an FIR registered against Akali supporter Jobanpreet Singh.
The legal action against Bath had triggered notable demonstrations by the Amritsar Bar Association, which asserted that the police administration was targeting legal professionals. In response to the growing legal community protests, senior police officials formed an SIT, which ultimately concluded that Bath was innocent of the charges.
Defense counsel Amanbir Singh Sayali, representing Jobanpreet, stated that the police department was unable to produce the CCTV footage regarding the alleged storming of the police station and the subsequent ruckus, which had been explicitly sought by the court.
The friction originated when Jobanpreet Singh was taken into custody during recent municipal council and nagar panchayat elections. Akali Dal leaders maintained that the detention was illegal and politically motivated, declaring that the family had been kept in the dark about the arrest. Upon receiving information about the containment, Majithia, alongside party workers and farmer leaders, organized a demonstration outside the police station to protest the administrative action.
The police department registered the case alleging that Majithia and his supporters entered the station premises to forcibly secure the release of the detained supporter. Official reports alleged that the Akali leader snatched a sub-inspector’s mobile phone and tore official documents during the incident, leading to charges of obstructing public servants and creating a public disturbance.
