SC Grants SAD's Bikram Majithia Protection From Arrest Till After Punjab Polls

Majithia, who has been named in a drugs case, has been asked to surrender before a trial court on 23 February.

The Supreme Court on Monday, 31 January, granted protection from arrest to Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia till 23 February, so that he may be allowed to contest in the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections.

The court directed Majithia to surrender before a trial court after the polls scheduled on 20 February, and apply for regular bail, as per news agency ANI.

The anticipatory bail plea of the Akali leader, who was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in December last year, was dismissed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 24 January.