Day after his arrest, HC dismisses plea pertaining to Amritpal Singh as infructuous
Imaan Singh Khara, the legal adviser of Amritpal Singh, sought directions that Punjab be directed to allow family members of the Sikh preacher and his lawyers to meet him
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday dismissed as infructuous a plea filed last month claiming that radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh was in the “illegal custody” of police, a day after his arrest in Moga district.
Following the statement from Punjab advocate general Vinod Ghai about Amritpal’s arrest , the court disposed of the plea.
Imaan Singh Khara, the legal adviser of Amritpal Singh and his outfit Waris Punjab De, had moved the habeas corpus plea on March 19, seeking the production of the preacher from alleged police custody.
Also read: Amritpal Singh: Arrest or surrender? Conflicting versions emerge
In earlier court hearings, Punjab had maintained that Amritpal had neither been detained nor arrested. The court had even asked the petitioner to show evidence that the radical preacher was in illegal custody.
Punjab Police arrested Amritpal at Rode village in Moga district on Sunday, ending an over a month-long manhunt for the radical preacher. Khara told reporters after the hearing that as Amritpal was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) and sent to the Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam on April 23, the petition was dismissed as infructuous.
Khara sought directions that state be directed to allow family members of the Sikh preacher and his lawyers to meet him.
However, court did not issue any direction, observing that in other cases also the state has allowed family members to meet the detainees. The state will act as per law and in case of any violation, the petitioner can move court again, the bench added.
Ghai stated that the family members can approach the authorities for the same.