Punjab Governor sanctions Majithia’s prosecution in disproportionate assets case

Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria has granted sanction to prosecute senior SAD leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia in a disproportionate assets case registered by the Vigilance Bureau, paving the way for his trial under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The sanction, issued under Section 19 of the Act, was granted following a formal recommendation from the Punjab Cabinet. The case has its roots to a 2021 FIR under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act based on a 2018 anti-drug Special Task Force report.

Hearing in Mohali court on Nov 10

A Mohali court will take up the Prevention of Corruption Act case against Majithia for consideration on framing of charges on November 10. The SAD leader appeared before the court via video conferencing on Saturday.

It alleged Majithia’s involvement in a multi-crore synthetic drug racket uncovered in 2013 by the ED, involving former DSP Jagdish Singh Bhola, who reportedly named Majithia during interrogation. Majithia was arrested in February 2022 and spent over five months in Patiala jail before securing bail from the Punjab and Haryana High Court in August 2022.

While the NDPS charges were quashed by courts in 2022 due to insufficient evidence, a special investigation team (SIT) probe continued, uncovering financial trails. This led to the registration of a fresh FIR on June 25, 2025, at the Vigilance Bureau's Mohali flying squad police station under Sections 13(1)(b) and 13(2) of the PC Act read with IPC criminal conspiracy provisions.

The investigation revealed alleged laundering of over Rs 540 crore in “drug money” through shell companies, hawala networks and benami properties during Majithia’s ministerial tenure (2007-17).

The alleged key findings include Rs 161 crore in unexplained cash deposits to family-controlled firms like Saraya Industries, Rs 141 crore routed via offshore entities in Cyprus and Singapore, Rs 236 crore in unreported excess deposits and acquisitions of luxury assets without legitimate sources, totalling over Rs 700 crore disproportionate to his income by about 1,200 per cent.

Majithia, a three-time MLA from Majitha and brother-in-law of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, was arrested the same day after VB raids at his Amritsar residence and 25 other sites yielded 30 mobile phones, laptops, property documents and diaries.

The VB filed a 140-page chargesheet on August 22, backed by 40,000-45,000 pages of evidence and over 200 witness statements, including from former ED Deputy Director Niranjan Singh and former DGP Siddharth Chattopadhyaya, who alleged prior government inaction on Majithia’s alleged nexus.

The case has ignited fierce political controversy, with the SAD branding it an “AAP vendetta” to silence opposition ahead of the 2027 elections. Sukhbir challenged Mann to prove foreign funding links to Saraya Industries and called the claims by the VB as a “murder of democracy”.