Anticipated relief, short-lived for Majithia

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed the implementation of transfer orders of the Enforcement Directorate officer, who had questioned Punjab minister Bikram Majithia in the drugs case. A Division Bench of the High Court also called for the record pertaining to the officer’s transfer.

The plea against the transfer has been filed by advocate Navkiran Singh in the drugs case pending adjudication before the High Court. Navkiran Singh, on behalf of the Lawyers for Human Rights International, contended that the transfer at this juncture would hamper investigations into the Rs 6000-crore money-laundering international drug racket. The probe, he said, was at the final stage.

He said ED official Niranjan Singh’s transfer was neither in public interest, nor in the interest of justice. The case was being supervised by the High Court for more than a year and status reports were being filed by state and central agencies.The transfer of an investigating officer, playing an important role in the investigation, was not beyond suspicion.