CHANDIGARH: A court in Amritsar on Monday granted anticipatory bail to Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a case related to the alleged forcible release of a detainee from a police station.
Majithia had moved the court after being named in an FIR registered under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including charges of obstructing public servants from performing their duties, using criminal force against public servants, snatching, damaging official records, criminal intimidation, unlawful assembly and rioting. Sections of the Arms Act were also included in the case.
Confirming the development, SAD spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler said Majithia had been granted anticipatory bail.
The case stems from an incident on May 31, when Majithia and around 50 to 60 supporters were accused of entering a police station in Amritsar and attempting to secure the release of Akali worker Jobanpreet Singh, who was in police custody.
Following the registration of the FIR, police carried out searches at Majithia's residences in Amritsar. However, the former Punjab minister could not be located.
The Shiromani Akali Dal has maintained that Jobanpreet Singh, who served as a polling agent for the party during the recent civic body elections, was being held at the SHO's quarters rather than in a police lock-up. The party described the case as "fabricated" and linked it to "political vendetta."
Earlier, on June 3, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered the release of Jobanpreet Singh after a petition alleged that he had been detained without being informed of the grounds for his arrest. In the plea, Jobanpreet Singh's father, Mukhwant Singh, argued that his son's detention was illegal and unconstitutional.
The petition stated that Jobanpreet Singh was taken into custody on May 31 without being provided written grounds for his arrest, which was alleged to be a violation of Article 22(1) of the Constitution and principles laid down by the Supreme Court in several judgments.
