The Supreme Court of India has dealt a severe blow to suspended Punjab Police Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Harcharan Singh Bhullar by refusing immediate relief on his second regular bail petition in an ongoing high-profile corruption probe. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising Justices Jaymalya Bagchi and V. Mohan delivered a stern oral reprimand during Tuesday’s proceedings, remarking that the matter stood as a “100 percent dismissal case” and asking defense counsel whether they preferred an outright dismissal immediately or at a later date. Emphasizing the gravity of the graft allegations, the top court deferred further hearings by four weeks, making it clear that bail considerations would remain off the table until key prosecution witnesses and the primary complainant concluded their formal depositions before the trial court.
CBI Trap, Cash Seizure, and the Legal Battle After Successive High Court and Trial Court Bail Rejections
The legal troubles for the suspended senior IPS officer stem from an intensive Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) anti-corruption operation initiated on October 16 in Chandigarh, where federal investigators laid a targeted trap and caught a co-accused red-handed accepting a ₹5 lakh installment of an alleged bribe payout. Following the subsequent arrest of Bhullar, a Special CBI Court in Chandigarh rejected his bail plea in January, an outcome reaffirmed when the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed his petition on August 10. Having previously faced an apex court refusal on April 10, Bhullar approached the highest judicial bench once more, only for the Supreme Court to reiterate its no-tolerance posture on high-level administrative corruption until all material witness testimonies are fully placed on the judicial record.