Chandigarh: Punjab Police DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar has filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging his arrest. The petition will be heard today. Bhullar has termed the CBI’s arrest as illegal and has raised questions about its jurisdiction. He argues that since he was posted in Punjab, the CBI should have taken permission from the Punjab government before arresting him.
The petition states that the CBI did not follow the rules in the arrest process. Bhullar claimed that the Punjab Vigilance Bureau had also registered an FIR before him in the same case, and there is a gap of about half an hour between the two FIRs.
Four main points of the petition
1. Jurisdiction question
In his first petition, Bhullar had challenged the jurisdiction of the CBI. He argues that since he was posted in Punjab, the CBI needed the permission of the Punjab government to register the case.
2. Arrest cannot be made without government permission
According to him, the alleged crime took place in Punjab, so registering an FIR and arrest by the CBI, Chandigarh is against the rules. The case in which he was arrested is of 2023 and belongs to Sirhind police station.
3. The recovered items were not recovered from him
Bhullar also claimed that the items recovered in Chandigarh were not recovered from him.
4. Question of two FIRs for one crime
He also raised questions on the second FIR. He said that two FIRs cannot be registered for the same crime. Punjab Vigilance had already registered an FIR.
What happened in the whole matter?
The CBI had arrested DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar on October 16, 2025, in Mohali on charges of demanding a bribe of Rs 8 lakh. Later, his premises were raided and documents related to properties worth crores were recovered.
On October 19, the Punjab government suspended him.
Following this, on October 29, 2025, the CBI filed a second disproportionate assets (DA) case against him. Earlier, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau had also registered an FIR against him.
In November 2025, the court sent him to CBI custody. The investigation is still ongoing.