Punjab Government Challenges CBI Probe Order in Supreme Court

The legal standoff follows an order from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which mandated a CBI probe after the state police declined to register an FIR. The Enforcement Directorate had issued three separate letters to the Director General of Police, seeking action against Rajbir Singh Ghumman, an Officer on Special Duty to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and other associates over graft allegations.

The High Court’s intervention emerged during a Public Interest Litigation filed by advocate Nikhil Thamman, who highlighted that Punjab has operated without a regular, permanent DGP for over four years. Thamman argued that the state’s failure to adhere to Supreme Court guidelines—specifically the Prakash Singh vs. Union of India ruling—has compromised administrative integrity. Following the ruling, Punjab Congress Chief Pargat Singh escalated the rhetoric, labeling the Aam Aadmi Party a "sham" and claiming that systemic corruption has reached the highest levels of the Chief Minister’s office.