Amritpal Singh moves Punjab & Haryana HC, challenges detention under NSA

Jailed head of Waris Punjab De and Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha MP Amritpal Singh, who is lodged in a prison in Assam's Dibrugarh district under the National Security Act, challenged his detention under the NSA in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday.

Singh, detained in Dibrugarh Jail since April 2023, argues that his preventive detention is unlawful and extreme. The head of the "pro-Khalistani" outfit, Waris Punjab De, is also accused in the Ajnala Police Station attack.

The detention order was initially issued in March 2023 following a provocative speech. Singh's plea claims his detention is based on social media posts with no significant impact on Punjab's security.

He contends that the District Magistrate of Amritsar overstepped authority by issuing the detention order and that only the Central or State Government could do so.

Singh, represented by advocate Amar Jeet Singh and senior advocate RS Bains, asserted that his right to represent his constituency was violated and argued his detention violated his constitutional rights.

Amritpal Singh, who won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Punjab's Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency as an independent candidate, is originally a resident of Jallu Kheda village in Amritsar and is currently lodged in jail in Assam's Dibrugarh district.

He used to live in Dubai prior to his return to Punjab in 2022, after the death of Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu. After his return, he became the chief of Deep Sidhu's pro-Khalistani organisation, Waris Punjab De.

He was arrested from Moga's Rode village after he and his supporters on February 23, 2023 staged a protest at the Ajnala police station and clashed with police personnel in an attempt to free one of his aides, who was taken into custody for making inflammatory and pro-Khalistan statements.

Punjab Police registered a case against Amritpal Singh under the National Security Act (NSA) and he was sent to Dibrugarh Jail in Assam.

In the 2024 parliamentary elections, Amritpal Singh won from the Khadoor Sahib seat. He was recently granted a four-day custody parole and brought to Delhi so that he could take oath as a Lok Sabha member.