Patiala: Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) functionary and former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia did not appear before a Punjab Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Monday in connection with the 2021 multi-crore synthetic drug trafficking case.Majithia’s counsel and SAD spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler appeared before SIT led by Mohali SSP Varun Sharma. Talking to the media later, he termed the summons as legally flawed, politically motivated and in contempt of court. SIT had also summoned dismissed police DSP and convicted drug kingpin Jagdish Singh Bhola.Kler said Majithia, an accused in the FIR, was summoned under Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a provision applicable only to witnesses. He said a similar notice was withdrawn in 2024 after SIT apologised to Punjab and Haryana High Court.According to Kler, SIT officers refused physical delivery of a detailed legal reply and directed the team to submit it by email.Kler accused the Aam Aadmi Party govt of using police as a political weapon, alleging the summons violated Supreme Court directions setting March 17–18, 2025, for Majithia’s appearance to conclude the prolonged probe. He further accused SIT of breaching confidentiality guidelines by leaking the summons to the media before service, and claimed the action aimed to divert attention from high court orders directing a CBI probe into alleged corruption.The case relates to the Punjab Police Nov 2013 crackdown that dismantled a Rs 6,000-crore synthetic drug syndicate and led to the arrest of former wrestler Bhola. Bhola named Majithia during court proceedings in 2014, allegations Majithia has consistently denied.The FIR under the provisions of the NDPS Act was registered at State Crime Police Station in Mohali on Dec 20, 2021, during Charanjit Singh Channi’s govt, based on a 2018 Special Task Force report.Majithia spent more than five months in Patiala Central Jail before Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him regular bail in Aug 2022, observing that there was no prima facie material or direct recovery linking him to the illicit drug trade. Police have not filed a charge-sheet despite five successive SITs investigating the FIR and Majithia joining the probe several times.
