‘Prosecution fabricating DA case: Bikram Majithia’s legal counsel says new DSPs, SSPs joining probe but finding no proof

In an exclusive interview to The Indian Express, Damanbir Singh Sobti, who heads the legal defence of Majithia, says there is an attempt by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab to manage public perception by linking his client’s DA case with drug smuggling, and alleges that evidence is being fabricated to ensure that the narrative holds up.

The DA case against Bikram Majithia is being presented in the public domain as income from proceeds of crime, especially drug money. How does his legal team see these allegations? Is there a link between the two?

Damanbir Singh Sobti: To put things categorically, this second FIR (First Information Report) could not have been registered. He is on bail in the drugs case. Section 27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act deals with the financing of drug trade. There is a finding of the high court that Bikram Majithia is not involved in any drug activity or in financing drug trade, and that should be the end.

Because of these findings, they (the prosecution) are not able to file a report under Section 173 (of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita which deals with the procedure for registering an FIR). They challenged this (high court) order in the Supreme Court, and they filed three additional affidavits taking all the pleas which they have now taken in the new FIR. In all these pleas, the prayer was the same – that we have unearthed new financial transactions, and his custodial interrogation is required. The Supreme Court dismissed those applications and dismissed their petitions.

There is a media trial taking place to shape public perception. I have got the orders of the court. Their boss (Arvind Kejriwal) has said sorry to him. Look at this ‘dirty tricks’ department. They arrest him in a DA case, and they don’t talk about drugs in the court ever.

Bikram Majithia’s petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court claims that his arrest and remand were ‘illegal’. What specific legal grounds are you arguing to support this claim?

Damanbir Sobti: There is a Supreme Court judgment which says that no new FIR can be registered on the same grounds. So when the foundation is wrong, then the entire building must collapse. Secondly, you name one case in the history of Punjab – even to fix political opponents with an absolutely hostile government – wherein there is a DA case without giving an opportunity for a person to explain his assets. There is no questionnaire in this case, no inquiry, there is no time given to Bikram. An FIR is registered at 4.40 am, and the police land at his house at 9 am. The basic ingredient of the relevant section of the Prevention of Corruption Act is that the accused should have failed to explain the sources of income for his assets.

The Vigilance Bureau alleges he has assets worth Rs 540 crore, including properties at Mashobra in Himachal Pradesh, and financial transactions through foreign entities. How are you addressing the evidence presented?

Damanbir Sobti: There was deliberate misrepresentation of 402 square metres as 402 hectares by the prosecution. One hectare is 10,000 square metres. They exaggerated the property to a multiple of 10,000, and they do not have a place to hide now. They need to be prosecuted for filing such applications. They were able to secure the remand of Bikram Majithia by making these false allegations.

When you go and search someone’s residence in a DA case, you were unable to recover even Rs 540 from the house, let alone Rs 540 crore. Like the CM’s remark about 29 mobile phones, like the CM’s remark about Bikram asking for a pillow (in jail), like the exaggerated land in Himachal, this Rs 540-crore story will meet the same fate.

In the preliminary hearings, has the Vigilance Bureau provided concrete evidence linking Bikram Majithia to alleged benami transactions or the alleged Saroya Distillery irregularities?

Damanbir Sobti: There has been no investigation. That is my case. They could not register a case without that. They can try their best. Every day we come to know that there are new DSPs, new SSPs who have been made to join the case. I do not know what is the mandate of law which allows such people to join. There are retired CBI officers coming from Delhi, there are private Chartered Accountants, and none of them have been able to find one material worth mentioning. Forget benami transactions, each and every penny of Bikram Majithia and his family is accounted for. They do not have any evidence, and now they are trying to create and plant evidence against Majithia.

How is the defence team responding to the Narcotics Control Bureau’s request for joint interrogation in the drug-related aspects of the case?

Damanbir Sobti: We have not received any notice. Nobody has talked to us. There is only one media report. Our stand is very clear. Our man has suffered for 12 years on false allegations. Elections are fought on this allegation, and the tragedy of Punjab is that nobody is addressing the drug issue. The Narcotics Control Bureau’s record needs to be seen, given the fact that from 2017 to 2025 drug trade has multiplied 200 times. We haven’t received any information, but we always welcome free, fair and transparent system of investigation.

The Majithia family and the SAD have claimed that the case is a political witch hunt by the AAP government. What argument are you presenting to support this claim in court?

Damanbir Sobti: It was in their political manifesto in 2017 that they will put Bikram Majithia behind bars. They are the ones who started this vilification campaign because he was a strong leader, and the youth was attracted to him. How do you make parents tell their children to stay away from him? Tarnish him. And when we filed a defamation case, he (Kejriwal) went on his knees and apologised.

Bikram Majithia has cited security threats and requested a separate cell in Nabha jail. What specific threats have been documented? How are you addressing the prosecution’s claim that adequate security is in place?

Damanbir Sobti: It is a matter of fact that he is an ‘orange category’ prisoner (high-risk, high-threat profile). They cannot change it. The court has taken very serious cognisance of it. The Director General of Prisons has been asked to look into whether Chapter 20 of the prison manual has been complied with, and if it has not been complied with, it should be done so immediately. The chapter categorically states that he cannot be kept with other prisoners. It is shocking that the prosecution claimed that a good conduct prisoner has been kept with Majithia. There could not have been a more heinous offence. That man was found guilty of murdering three children.

We have seen rogue elements in court dressed up in white kurta pyjamas and blue turbans. I do not know if they were from the CID or are just badmash. On one hand, you say no one can come close to Bikram Majithia, and on the other he is surrounded by these 50 men whose identity is not known. If some harm is caused to him, they will say Akali supporters did it.

Given the political storm surrounding the case, how are you ensuring that the legal arguments remain focused on evidence and procedure rather than political narratives?

Damanbir Sobti: We do not want to get into a political narrative, but please know that the most important cases in India are taking place before the Chief Justice of India’s court, and he has allowed live streaming of the proceedings. We demand that a case which is of such public importance should have a live streaming facility so that lawyers are able to address the court only on arguments.

Now these public prosecutors are acting like the spokespersons of the AAP. Bahar drug case hai, andar DA case hai (Outside the court, it is a drug case but inside the court, it is a DA case). The official page of the AAP has more than 200 posts that a drug lord has been caught. Now we are forced to counter the false allegations by speaking to the media because we are also fighting a public perception battle.