Arrest warrants issued against brother-in-law of Akali Dal leader Bikram Majithia in disproportionate assets case

The VB informed the court that a request for his arrest has been made due to allegations of disproportionate assets, and during the investigation, his name was nominated. Grewal allegedly played a pivotal role in the criminal conspiracy to acquire and conceal disproportionate assets of Majithia, and arrest warrants were issued in the interest of justice, the VB claimed.

The agency also contended that Grewal repeatedly avoided joining the investigation despite the issuance of notices under Section 179 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and had been adopting delay tactics.

“The conduct of the accused is deliberate and obstructive, which requires issuance of his arrest warrants,” contended the VB in its application.

Along with the application, the special report nominating Grewal in the FIR, as well as the enhancement of the offence under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), has also been filed.

IO Inderpal Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police, informed the court that Grewal has not been arrested yet and that there is no stay on his arrest by any court in this case. Neither has bail been granted to him, nor is any bail application pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the present case.

“Keeping in view the facts mentioned in the application, the same is allowed. Accordingly, the arrest warrants of the accused Gajpat Singh Grewal be issued immediately returnable by 29.11.2025,” the judge said in her order dated November 15.

Overview of the case

Bikram Singh Majithia is facing a disproportionate assets (DA) case filed by the VB. The case alleges that he amassed assets worth over Rs 700 crore—disproportionate to his declared income by approximately 1,200 per cent—through the laundering of Rs 540 crore in “drug money” linked to a 2013 drug trafficking network.

This stems from a 2018 anti-drug special task force report and an ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into a 2021 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act case against him, where NDPS charges were quashed in 2022 due to insufficient evidence, but financial trails persisted.

The FIR registered on June 25 at the Mohali VB flying squad police station invokes sections 13(1)(b) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, along with IPC provisions for criminal conspiracy.

Key allegations

Rs 161 crore in unexplained cash deposits to family-controlled firms like Saraya Industries.- Rs 141 crore routed through offshore entities in Cyprus and Singapore.
-Rs 236 crore in unreported excess deposits and luxury asset acquisitions without legitimate sources.

Raids on June 25 at Majithia’s residence in Amritsar and at 25 other locations across Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Himachal Pradesh yielded laptops, property documents, and diaries.

Timeline and key developments

– March 2025: Majithia summoned for SIT questioning on financial links to drug trade.
– June 25, 2025: Arrested from Amritsar residence; initial police custody remand.
– June 26, 2025: Mohali court grants 7-day VB custody for interrogation.
– July 2, 2025: Remand extended by 4 days.
– July 6, 2025: Sent to 14-day judicial custody in New Nabha Jail, Patiala.
– July 19, 2025: Judicial custody extended till August 2.
– August 14, 2025: Extended till August 28.
– August 18, 2025: Mohali sessions court dismisses regular bail plea, citing advancing probe and overlap concerns with NDPS case (defence argued re-characterisation of “drug money” as DA assets). Majithia approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
– August 22, 2025: VB files 140-page chargesheet (with 40,000–45,000 pages of evidence, including more than 200 witness statements from ex-ED officials and former DGP).
– September 8, 2025: Punjab Cabinet recommends prosecution sanction under PC Act Section 19.
– September 17–October 6, 2025: High Court hearings on bail; adjourned multiple times, with the government ordered to file responses. Additional SIT interrogations occur in jail.
– November 1, 2025: Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria grants prosecution sanction, enabling trial under PC Act.
– November 7, 2025: High Court defers bail hearing to November 10.
– November 13, 2025: High Court directs Punjab government to file affidavit on bail application.

Majithia’s defence counsel claimed the probe is “fabricated,” with no concrete evidence, involves rotating officers (DSPs/SSPs) who allegedly found nothing substantive, and alleges a political vendetta by the AAP government.

The case has drawn political heat, with the SAD accusing the AAP of targeting opposition voices amid Punjab’s ‘Yudh Nasheyan Virudh’ (war against drugs) campaign, while the AAP hails it as anti-corruption progress.

Majithia, a three-time MLA from Majitha and brother-in-law of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, was previously jailed for over five months in 2022 under the NDPS Act before he got bail.