Chandigarh, Feb 24 (IANS): Facing charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia was on Thursday sent to judicial custody till March 8 by a trial court in Mohali near here after he surrendered following directions of the Supreme Court.

The brother-in-law of SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal, Majithia, who was sent to the Ropar jail during his judicial custody, applied for regular bail and his bail plea will come up for hearing on Friday.

A bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and Justices A.S. Bopanna and Hima Kohli had directed Majithia to surrender before the trial court after the Punjab Assembly polls on February 20. His interim bail had ended on Wednesday night.

Majithia was in the fray for the February 20 assembly polls from Amritsar (East).

In a 49-page FIR filed by the state police Crime Branch at the Mohali police station, the SAD leader has been booked under sections 25, 27A and 29 of the NDPS Act.