Justice Surya Kant recuses from hearing Punjab’s appeal challenging HC order

New Delhi: Justice Surya Kant of the Supreme Court has recused himself from hearing an appeal by the Punjab government challenging a Punjab and Haryana High Court order.
Punjab has challenged the high court order of granting regular bail to SAD leader Bikram Majithia in a drugs case.
It is pertinent to mention here that on 10 August 2022, Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) bench had granted bail to Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a 2021 drugs case.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia, is a former minister, was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in December 2021 by Punjab Police, on the basis of a 2018 report of a probe into a drug racket in the state.
In February 2022, a court in Mohali had rejected Majithia’s regular bail plea after he surrendered on 24 February before it.
Majithia had even approached the Supreme Court in May2022 but it asked the SAD leader to move the high court.
Bikram Singh Majithia is the brother-in-law of Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and brother of former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal.