Amritpal Singh, the elected Member of Parliament (MP) from the Khadoor Sahib Parliamentary Constituency in Punjab, has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, challenging his third consecutive detention order under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), 1980.
Singh, who secured a significant victory in the recent Lok Sabha elections while incarcerated, alleges that his continued preventive detention, which began in April 2023, is arbitrary and legally unsustainable.
Grounds for the Challenge
The petition filed by Amritpal Singh in the High Court argues that the latest detention order is violative of constitutional safeguards enshrined under Articles 21 (Protection of Life and Personal Liberty) and Article 22 (Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases) of the Constitution of India.
The primary grounds for challenging the successive NSA detentions include:
- Lack of Credible Material: The plea asserts that there is “no credible material” connecting Singh to the alleged prejudicial activities that necessitate the invocation of preventive detention.
- Violation of Due Process: It argues that no sufficient underlying material has been supplied to the detenue to support the detaining authority’s allegations.
- FIR Pendency Not Sole Basis: The petition emphasizes that the mere reference to the pendency of an investigation, a First Information Report (FIR), or nomination as an accused cannot be the sole basis for invoking the NSA. The detaining authority must demonstrate that the alleged acts have actively disturbed public order or pose an imminent threat to it.
- Vague Assumptions: The plea states that “Preventive detention cannot be justified based on vague, unverified, or anticipatory assumptions.”
Supreme Court’s Previous Directive
The move to the Punjab and Haryana High Court follows a recent development at the apex level. The Supreme Court, on November 10, refused to entertain a writ petition previously filed by Singh challenging his third NSA detention. However, the Supreme Court granted him the liberty to approach the appropriate High Court and requested the Punjab and Haryana High Court to dispose of the matter preferably within six weeks.
Amritpal Singh remains under preventive detention, a measure that allows for the prolonged incarceration of an individual to prevent them from acting in a manner prejudicial to the security of the state or the maintenance of public order.
