Today, On 24th March, The Supreme Court strongly criticized the Punjab government for its repeated failure to ensure the presence of its counsel during hearings. Observing the absence, the bench remarked, “State of Punjab means absent,” highlighting the state’s negligence in legal proceedings.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court criticized the Punjab government for the absenteeism of its advocates in court cases and instructed the state’s advocate general to ensure their presence.
A bench comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Aravind Kumar made these remarks while hearing the Punjab government’s appeal against a Punjab and Haryana High Court order granting bail to former minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia on August 10, 2022.
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The bench stated,
“Mr. Advocate General of Punjab, we have previously called you in another case. In your state, despite serving notice, your panel advocates in the Supreme Court are not appearing. We have mentioned this in two orders already. This is a daily drama. The state of Punjab means absent. This is happening not only in criminal cases but also in civil cases. Nobody is appearing,”
The Supreme Court adjourned the Punjab government’s plea for two weeks after they requested additional time.
During the hearing, Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh apologized to the court for the situation and assured that it would not happen again.
The court previously directed Majithia to appear before the special investigation team (SIT) headquarters in Patiala, which is investigating a drugs case against him, following claims from the Punjab government that he was refusing to cooperate in the inquiry.
Majithia contended that he was being harassed for political reasons and requested the court to set specific dates for his interrogation.
The high court indicated that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that he was not guilty, but it limited its remarks solely to the consideration of the bail plea. It emphasized that the trial court should proceed independently.
Majithia was released after spending over five months in Patiala Jail in connection with the case. He is the brother-in-law of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and the brother of former union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
Majithia was charged based on a 2018 report from the anti-drug special task force (STF), which was investigating a drug racket in the state.
This report based on confessions made by several accused individuals, including Jagjit Singh Chahal, Jagdish Singh Bhola, and Maninder Singh Aulakh, to the Enforcement Directorate.