Overview

• After multi-day hearings, the Mohali court on August 18 rejected Bikram Singh Majithia’s bail plea, with prosecutor Ferry Sofat noting the ongoing probe and the serious nature of the alleged offences.
• The detailed order underscores a ‘crucial and sensitive’ stage of investigation, risks of witness influence and evidence tampering, and says economic offences constitute a class apart where custodial interrogation can be the norm.
• Majithia was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on June 25 in a disproportionate assets case that the FIR links to laundering over Rs 540 crore of alleged drug proceeds through shell entities and benami holdings tied to earlier NDPS probes.
• He remains lodged in New Nabha Jail with judicial custody extended until August 28, and his counsel has said the order will be challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
• Punjab AAP leaders hailed the decision as validation of the Vigilance Bureau’s evidence and also claimed Majithia aide ‘Satta’ is under an Interpol Blue Corner notice with extradition efforts from Canada being pursued, a developing element of the case.