E-Paper
HC reserves order on Amritpal’s plea challenging NSA detention
In the plea filed in December 2025, the Waris Punjab De chief had sought quashing of the third successive detention order passed against him on April 23, 2025, for one year.
Chandigarh
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday reserved its judgment on a plea filed by jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh challenging the April 2025 detention order under the National Security Act (NSA) by the Punjab government.
In the plea filed in December 2025, the Waris Punjab De chief had sought quashing of the third successive detention order passed against him on April 23, 2025, for one year. The radical Sikh leader was first detained in April 2023, along with his nine associates.
Amritpal had claimed the order rested solely on an FIR registered on October 9, 2024, regarding the murder of one of his old associates. There was not an “iota of evidence” against him linking him to the FIR, he claimed.
On the other hand, Punjab has argued that a hit list of those critical to jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh and his “links with dreaded terrorists” were fresh grounds for the April 2025 detention order. The hit list was part of an intelligence input of October 12, 2024, in which field officers in the state were alerted that Amritpal’s sympathisers had prepared a list of 15 individuals, whom they wanted to “eliminate” in the coming days. The list included the name of one Gurpreet Singh Harinau, a close associate who later distanced himself from Amritpal. Gurpreet was killed on October 9, 2024, in Faridkot and Amritpal has been nominated as accused in this case.
Amritpal has been lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail ever since his first detention under the NSA in April 2023. After winning the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Khadoor Sahib, Amritpal was released on parole once to attend the Parliament on July 5, 2024, when he was administered the oath of office. Under the NSA, authorities can detain individuals for a maximum period of 12 months.
Meanwhile, the court resumed hearing on the plea from Amritpal demanding temporary release to attend the ongoing budget session. The state government had rejected his representation on February 2 citing “serious threat to the security of the state and the maintenance of public order”. The hearing will continue on Thursday as well.
