Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has sought complete information about all FIRs registered against MP Amritpal Singh and his associates from Khadoor Sahib. The court directed the District Magistrates (DMs) of Amritsar and Moga to submit a complete report on the cases against the MP before it by February 17.
This comes after Khadoor Sahib MP challenged his preventive detention under the National Security Act (NSA) and sought directions to the Union Government to release him and allow him to attend the parliamentary sessions and Republic Day ceremony.
Next Hearing on February 17
Amritpal and his colleagues have challenged the invoking of the NSA and the extension of the detention period. During the hearing, the defence argued that the authorities kept them in detention under the stringent law without furnishing details to them.
“The Amritsar DM imposed a new NSA on all of them on March 13, 2024, and it was approved by the Punjab government on March 24. However, it is not mentioned anywhere that after imposing the NSA, the DM had sent it to the state government, which is against the very act,” the defence counsel told the court.
Amritpal’s associates Sarabjit Singh Kalsi, Gurmeet Gill, Papalpreet Singh, and others have said in their petition that the action against them, including the imposition of NSA, is “unconstitutional,” against the law, and due to political differences.
In response, the Punjab government had said that the detention of Amritpal’s associates was necessary for the security of the state. “Amritpal’s associates were also associated with the separatists even while in jail. In such a situation, it is right to extend their detention,” the government claimed.
Amritpal Arrest in April 2023
To recall, police arrested Amritpal in April 2023, and since then, he and some of his associates have been lodged in Dibrugarh Jail in Assam under the NSA. The MP and foreign-origin terrorist Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dalla, have also been booked under the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act). The action has been taken by the Faridkot district police in the case of the murder of Gurpreet Singh Harino, a youth associated with Panthic organisations.
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