Amritpal Singh's Counsel Informs High Court of Missing Grounds for Fresh Detention

• Apr 22, 2025

The Punjab and Haryana High Court was informed on Tuesday that Member of Parliament from Khadoor Sahib, Amritpal Singh, currently detained under the National Security Act (NSA) in Dibrugarh Jail, Assam, has not yet been provided with the grounds for his latest detention order.

Appearing before the Bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel, senior advocate R.S. Bains, representing Amritpal, stated that he did not have instructions at this time to challenge the third detention order. However, he insisted on pursuing the petition already under consideration by the court, noting that the second detention order expired on the same day.

Bains further informed the court that the third detention order had not yet been furnished, but he had directions to press for adjudication of the ongoing matter. He also highlighted a key issue in the case—whether social media posts could be relied upon as valid grounds for detaining an individual under the NSA.

Amritpal Singh and nine of his associates were initially detained under the NSA. However, the State government revoked the detention orders against his associates in March and April of this year. In contrast, Amritpal’s detention has been extended for a third consecutive term.

Representing the State, senior advocate Anupam Gupta updated the Bench on the status of other NSA-related cases, stating that most had become infructuous due to the expiration of the detention periods.

The case is scheduled for resumed hearing in July.