Chandigarh, Feb. 17 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday dismissed a plea by suspended DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar, 59, seeking bail in the corruption case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on October 16 last year. On January 2, the trial court in Chandigarh had rejected his bail plea, observing that "the case constitutes a class apart being an alarming economic offence". Subsequently, Bhullar had approached the high court for bail on January 9. After hearing arguments from both sides, the plea was dismissed by the bench of justice Sumeet Goel on Monday. Detailed order is awaited. In his plea, Bhullar had stated that the investigation had concluded and the challan was presented by CBI on January 3, thereby rendering further custodial interrogation "wholly unnecessary". It was further argued that the prosecution proposed to examine predominantly official witnesses, and the petitioner had been suspended from service, eliminating any plausible apprehension of influencing witnesses or tampering with evidence. The petitioner has spent a substantial period of time inside jail in a case wherein, if convicted, he would get a maximum of seven years' imprisonment. Hence, his continuous incarceration would amount to punitive detention before trial, contrary to the settled principles governing bail, he had argued. CBI had opposed the bail plea, arguing that in view of the gravity and seriousness of the allegations, the nature of the offence, the role specifically attributed to him, the likelihood of tampering with the evidence or influencing witnesses, he should not be enlarged on bail at this stage. Bhullar and middleman Krishanu Sharda, 29, a national-level hockey player, were arrested on October 16 following a complaint filed by Akash Batta, a scrap dealer from Mandi Gobindgarh. During a subsequent search at Bhullar's Sector 40 home, CBI had seized around Rs.7.5 crore in cash, gold and silver jewellery worth Rs.2.32 crore, 22 luxury watches, multiple luxury vehicles, 40 litres of imported liquor, and documents for 129 acres of agricultural land, numerous urban properties in Patiala, Ludhiana, Mohali and New Chandigarh, and 50 commercial shops at Machhiwara, Ludhiana. Bhullar has been lodged in Model Jail, Chandigarh, since his arrest four months ago. CBI had also registered a separate case of disproportionate assets against him in which a chargesheet is yet to be filed. He secured bail in that case on January 5 from the trial court. Bhullar had also challenged the registration of an FIR by CBI and invoked a jurisdictional issue, stating that federal probe agency had no jurisdiction to arrest an IPS officer posted in Punjab. Subsequently, in December, he approached the apex court, also challenging CBI proceedings as he failed to get a relief from the HC. But he failed to get a relief from the apex court as well. Later, he withdrew the plea from HC....