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Graft case: CBI court dismisses suspended Punjab DIG Bhullar’s bail plea
On October 16, 2025, the CBI had arrested Bhullar along with middleman Krishanu Sharda, in connection with a corruption case involving a bribe of ₹8 lakh.
The court of special judge, CBI, Bhawna Kumar Jain on Friday dismissed the regular bail plea of Punjab Police DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar in the main corruption case registered against him in October 2025. The court dismissed the bail plea after hearing heated arguments from both sides for over two hours and the dismissal orders were pronounced at 6 pm by the court this evening.
On October 16, 2025, the CBI had arrested Bhullar along with middleman Krishanu Sharda, in connection with a corruption case involving a bribe of ₹8 lakh.
Bhullar’s counsel argued in court that the term ‘sewa paani (service and water)’, which the CBI has described in the FIR quoting Bhullar as saying, does not necessarily mean bribe but could mean something else also.
However, the CBI’s public prosecutor Narender Singh argued that Bhullar held a high-ranking post in the Punjab Police and was the son of a former director general of police (DGP), so the investigating agency had gathered all the evidence before making the arrest. He stated that Bhullar’s demands for bribe were at a frenzied pace, which is why his arrest shook the nation and made the public lose faith in the Punjab Police.
Defence counsel advocate SPS Bhullar told the court that the location of the middleman, complainant Akash, and CBI officer Sachin is being traced to Sector 9D, Chandigarh, at the time of the arrest of Bhullar. The location of no other witnesses of the case have been traced here. At the time of DIG Bhullar’s arrest, the CBI did not inform any senior Punjab officials, it was argued.
Bhullar’s defence further argued that the CBI’s case does not specify the time, date, or place of arrest. Furthermore, the bribe amount mentioned in the documents is also contradictory; it first mentions ₹1 lakh and then ₹4 lakh.
Narendra Singh responded to the arguments that inspector RM Sharma and inspector Pawan Lamba are both witnesses in the case. The first witness is Lamba, and the second witness is Sharma.
He added that initially, evidence was gathered and only after that the trap was laid. The mention of Sector 9D, Chandigarh, is only a matter of location; anyone could have some work in the parking lot. The message sent by Bhullar to the middleman clearly shows that a bribe was being demanded. The message read, “Take as much as he gives and the entire amount of ₹8 lakh has to be paid.”
He further said that the notification issued by the central government ministry clearly states that the CBI DSP has the power to make an arrest, and there is no room for error, especially when the corruption is so widespread and against such a high-ranking officer.
After the arrest of Bhullar last year, the CBI had recovered around ₹7.5 crore cash, 2.50 kg gold jewellery, documents of immovable properties, including farmhouse in Samrala, keys of luxury vehicles, 22 luxury watches, locker keys, 40 litres of imported liquor, firearms, including a double-barrel gun, a pistol, a revolver, and an airgun, along with ammunition during a raid at DIG Bhullar’s residence. Subsequently, the CBI had registered a separate case of disproportionate assets against the accused. The Punjab Vigilance too had registered a DA case against the accused.
Court had earlier dismissed default bail in DA case
On December 18 last year, the special CBI court on Thursday dismissed the default bail application of former Punjab DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar in the disproportionate assets (DA) case as the chargesheet in the case has still not been filed.
Default bail, also known as statutory or compulsory bail, is an accused person’s fundamental right to be released from custody if the investigating agency fails to complete the probe and file a chargesheet within a legally mandated time limit (usually 60 or 90 days).
