The Supreme Court refused to hear Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh’s plea challenging his detention under the National Security Act, 1980. The Bench directed him to approach the jurisdictional High Court, which must decide the case within six weeks.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Monday refused to hear a petition filed by Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, who is currently in jail, against his detention under the National Security Act (NSA), 1980.
A Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice N.V. Anjaria said that Amritpal Singh should first approach the concerned High Court. The judges also directed that the High Court must decide the case “expeditiously; within six weeks”, keeping in mind the long period of his detention.
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Amritpal Singh, who is currently lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam, had moved the Supreme Court challenging the legality of his preventive detention under the NSA.
In his plea, he also sought permission to attend the upcoming session of Parliament, as he was elected as a Member of Parliament from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib constituency while being in custody.
His petition claimed that the detention order was
“arbitrary, unconstitutional, and violative of his fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19, 21, and 22 of the Constitution.”
Singh argued that his arrest and detention were politically motivated and that the authorities had not followed the necessary legal safeguards required under the NSA.
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During the short hearing, Senior Advocate Collin Gonsalves represented Amritpal Singh, while Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju appeared for the Central government.
The Supreme Court, however, made it clear that the petition could not be entertained at this stage. Justice Aravind Kumar observed that
“the appropriate course of action would be to first move the jurisdictional High Court, which could examine the legality of the detention order and the accompanying grounds in detail.”
The Bench also mentioned that even though the Court understood that Singh had been detained for a long time,
“the principle of judicial hierarchy required that such matters first be adjudicated by the concerned High Court.”
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The judges further said that once the government’s counsel appeared and the formal order was passed,
“the High Court would be directed to decide Singh’s plea within six weeks.”
Amritpal Singh, who won the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib constituency, has been behind bars since March 2023.
He was detained under the NSA after a major crackdown by Punjab Police, following allegations that he was promoting separatist ideologies and trying to revive the Khalistan movement.
Case Title:
Amritpal Singh v. Union of India.
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