NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a petition filed by suspended Punjab Police Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Harcharan Singh Bhullar seeking a stay on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in two FIRs alleging accumulation of disproportionate assets.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant observed that the Punjab and Haryana High Court was already seized of Bhullar’s petitions challenging the CBI’s jurisdiction in the matter. The Bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi, asked the petitioner to pursue his remedies before the High Court and refused to interfere at this stage.
Following the court’s indication, senior advocate Vikram Chaudhary, appearing for Bhullar, sought permission to withdraw the writ petition with liberty to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The apex court accordingly dismissed the petition as withdrawn.
During the hearing, Bhullar’s counsel argued that the High Court had granted a month-long adjournment without considering the plea for interim relief. He contended that the CBI had “wrongfully assumed jurisdiction” in violation of Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, as Punjab had withdrawn its general consent for CBI investigations.
Opposing the plea, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, told the court that Bhullar’s regular bail had been rejected and that a chargesheet had already been filed.
Earlier, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had declined to grant Bhullar interim relief in his writ petitions. In an order dated December 4, a Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry held that the interim relief sought was “more or less akin to the final relief” and therefore could not be granted at that stage. The matter has been listed for further hearing on January 12, 2026.
Bhullar, a 2007-batch IPS officer who was serving as DIG, Ropar Range, was arrested by the CBI on October 16 after allegedly being caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of ₹5 lakh from a scrap dealer. He is also facing a separate case for allegedly amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.