Chandigarh, Dec 4 (PTI) Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday dismissed the bail plea of Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia in a disproportionate assets (DA) case.

Majithia was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on June 25 in the case allegedly involving the laundering of Rs 540 crore of "drug money".

Speaking to the media here, special public prosecutor Ferry Sofat said keeping in view the seriousness of the matter, the court of justice, Tribhuvan Dahiya, rejected the bail plea of Majithia.

Earlier, a Mohali court rejected the bail plea of Majithia, who is currently lodged in New Nabha jail in Patiala.

Majithia has called the case against him "political witch-hunting and vendetta" for being a critic of the AAP-led Punjab government.

Majithia was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in 2021. The action was taken on a 2018 report of the anti-drug Special Task Force.

In the FIR registered against Majithia, the VB claims that preliminary investigation revealed that over Rs 540 crore of "drug money" had been laundered through several ways, and it was facilitated by Majithia.

Following the FIR, the VB filed a 40,000-page chargesheet in the DA case. PTI CHS VSD AMJ AMJ