Amritpal Singh: Punjab seeks High Court nod to keep MP in Dibrugarh jail as NSA detention ends

The Punjab government has filed a fresh plea in the Punjab and Haryana High Court to keep Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh confined in Dibrugarh jail, Assam, as his National Security Act detention ends on April 22. The court also dismissed his challenge to the third NSA detention order, with a hearing set for Friday.

The Punjab government approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday with a new petition about Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh. The state asked the court to keep Amritpal Singh confined in Dibrugarh jail in Assam. The request came as Amritpal Singh’s detention under the National Security Act ends on April 22.

A counsel for the state told a bench led by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu that Punjab planned to arrest Amritpal Singh. The counsel cited intelligence inputs and security risks for continued custody in Assam. Amritpal Singh’s lawyer, Iman Singh Khara, said the state wanted Amritpal Singh to stay in Dibrugarh jail. The court is set to hear the plea on Friday.

Amritpal Singh detention and Punjab government court plea

The petition said Punjab is unlikely to extend the National Security Act detention beyond April 22. It also stated that Amritpal Singh is likely to be arrested on April 23. Amritpal Singh has been held under the Act since April 2023. Amritpal Singh is in the Assam prison linked to the 2023 Ajnala Police Station attack case.

The Amritsar Rural Senior Superintendent of Police filed the petition for the Punjab government. The officer sought directions to keep Amritpal Singh in the Central Jail, Dibrugarh, after arrest. The petition also asked for permission to investigate Amritpal Singh at a designated place in Dibrugarh. It further requested video conferencing for production, remand, and chargesheet stages.

"The grounds mentioned in the writ petition, which reveal the anti-national, nefarious activities of Amritpal Singh and his supporters, which may become a reason for threat to the interest of the security of the state, law and order situation, and cause prejudice to the public order of the state, the plea read.\"

The petition also referred to Assam’s consent for lodging Amritpal Singh in Dibrugarh. It cited the Transfer of Prisoners Act, 1952, and the Transfer of the Prisoners Act, 2025. The Punjab government asked the court to allow proceedings from the start through video links. This included steps after arrest and the filing of the chargesheet.

Amritpal Singh detention order under NSA dismissed by High Court

In a separate matter on Thursday, the high court rejected Amritpal Singh’s challenge to the third detention order. The court dealt with the order issued under the National Security Act by Punjab. The division bench included Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry. The ruling upheld the preventive detention order challenged by Amritpal Singh.

\"... It is clear as day light that the impugned order of preventive detention passed against the petitioner is immuned from the powers of judicial review, the order of the division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry read.\"

Amritpal Singh had sought to set aside the third detention order passed on April 23, 2025, for one year. The court said it found no illegality in the detention order by the Amritsar district magistrate. The order was issued on April 24, 2025. The court order listed reasons recorded for detention and did not accept the challenge.

The court order mentioned alleged links with anti-national elements and association with gangsters and terrorists. It also referred to an alleged intent to physically eliminate people. The order said these people could publicly expose the petitioner and damage the petitioner’s image. It also cited campaigning for the cause of Khalistan separatism as a ground.

Ajnala Police Station attack case linked to Amritpal Singh detention

Amritpal Singh is chief of the Waris Punjab De group. Amritpal Singh also styled himself after slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Punjab Police began action against the group after the February 23, 2023, Ajnala incident. Amritpal Singh was arrested in Mogas Rode village on April 23, 2023, after a month-long search.

In the Ajnala case, Amritpal Singh’s supporters allegedly arrived with swords and guns. The group is accused of breaking barricades and forcing entry into the police station. The police station is on the outskirts of Amritsar city. The clash allegedly happened while seeking the release of Amritpal Singh’s aides, the report said.

Amritpal Singh contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election as an Independent candidate. Amritpal Singh won the Khadoor Sahib seat. The detention under the National Security Act was extended in April 2025. At the same time, nine associates held in the Assam jail were brought back to Punjab. The associates were arrested in the same case.

Last month, the high court rejected another petition by the Khadoor Sahib MP. Amritpal Singh had challenged Punjab’s refusal of temporary release to attend Parliament’s Budget Session. The court said the order had no constitutional or legal flaw. The court also observed that national interests outweigh personal interests in such matters.

With inputs from PTI