The Supreme Court on Monday censured the Punjab
government over the absenteeism of its advocates in cases and asked the state's
advocate general to ensure their attendance.
A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Aravind Kumar
made the observation while hearing the plea filed by the state government's
plea against the Punjab and Haryana High Court order of bail to former minister
and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia on August 10, 2022.
"Mr Advocate General of Punjab, we have already
called you in one case. In your state, even after service of notice, your panel
advocates in the Supreme Court are not appearing. We have already referred in
two orders. This is everyday drama. State of Punjab means absent. It is
happening not only in criminal cases but civil cases also. Nobody is
appearing," the bench said.
The top court adjourned by two weeks the plea filed
by the Punjab government after it sought time.
During the hearing, Punjab advocate general
Gurminder Singh apologised to the court over the issue and assured it won't be
repeated.
The top court had directed Majithia to appear before
special investigation team (SIT) Headquarters, Patiala which is probing a drugs
case against him.
The order had come after the Punjab government said
Majithia was refusing to cooperate in the probe.
Majithia said he was being harassed for political
reasons and asked the court to fix dates for the interrogation.
The high court noted "reasonable grounds"
to believe he was not guilty but limited its observation only to the
adjudication of the bail plea.
The trial court should proceed independently, it
added.
Majithia walked out after spending over five months
in the Patiala Jail in the case.
He is the brother-in-law of SAD president Sukhbir
Singh Badal and brother of former union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
Majithia was booked on the basis of a 2018 report of
the anti-drug special task force (STF) looking into a drug racket in the state.
The report stemmed from the confessional statements
of the accused, including Jagjit Singh Chahal, Jagdish Singh Bhola and Maninder
Singh Aulakh, to the Enforcement Directorate.