Ex-DIG Bhullar’s challenge plea against CBI arrest to be heard in High Court today

The Punjab and Haryana High Court will today hear a challenge plea filed by suspended Punjab Police DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar, who has questioned the legality of his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Bhullar has alleged that the CBI overstepped its jurisdiction, filed FIRs without mandatory state consent and conducted an investigation that duplicated an earlier Punjab Vigilance case.

Bhullar was arrested by the CBI on October 16, from Mohali over allegations that he demanded a bribe of Rs 8 lakh to settle a 2023 FIR against a scrap dealer registered at the Sirhind police station. Following the arrest, the CBI conducted searches at various locations linked to him and claimed to have seized cash, gold and property documents running into crores.

The Punjab government suspended him three days later. A second FIR was filed by the CBI on October 29, accusing him of possessing disproportionate assets. The Vigilance Bureau had also previously registered a case against him on similar grounds, leading to overlapping investigations.

In his plea, Bhullar has argued that the CBI’s action is invalid because the alleged offences occurred in Punjab, meaning the agency could not proceed without the state’s prior consent under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act. He has stated that no such permission was obtained, making both the FIR and the arrest procedurally flawed.

He has also questioned the authority of the CBI’s Chandigarh office to register a case connected to an incident that took place within Punjab’s territorial limits.

A major part of the plea highlights that the Punjab Vigilance Bureau had already filed an FIR for the same alleged offence shortly before the CBI registered its own case. Bhullar maintains that two FIRs for the same incident are not permissible and has sought quashing of the CBI’s FIR on this ground.

He has also raised doubts about the recoveries shown by the agency, claiming that certain items listed as seized in Chandigarh were not recovered from his possession.

Bhullar has filed two separate petitions, one challenging the CBI’s jurisdiction and the other contesting the legality of his arrest and the subsequent proceedings. The High Court is expected to examine whether the agency followed due legal process, whether mandatory state consent was required in this case, and whether parallel FIRs by the Vigilance Bureau and the CBI violate established legal principles.

Sources say that the outcome of today’s hearing will be crucial, as it could determine the course of the ongoing investigation as well as the validity of the central agency’s actions in this high-profile corruption case.