The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by jailed Member of Parliament Amritpal Singh, who sought the quashing of a Punjab government order that denied him temporary release to attend the ongoing budget session of Parliament.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry upheld the state’s decision, observing that there was “no constitutional or legal infirmity” in the order. The court emphasized that in matters of preventive detention, the security and sovereignty of the nation take precedence over the personal liberty or professional obligations of an individual.
Amritpal Singh, the 33-year-old head of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ group and MP from Khadoor Sahib, is currently detained in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act (NSA). He had moved the High Court seeking parole or temporary release to participate in the budget session, which is scheduled in two phases: from January 28 to February 13 and from March 9 to April 2.
The petitioner argued that his presence in Parliament was necessary to raise critical issues affecting his constituency and the state, including the 2025 floods, the rise of drug abuse, and various developmental concerns.
However, the Punjab government, in an order dated February 2, declined his application. The state cited “serious threat to the security of the state and the maintenance of public order” as the primary grounds for refusal, supported by detailed reports from the District Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police, Amritsar (Rural), dated January 22 and 21, 2026, respectively.
The High Court noted that the threat perception regarding public order continues to exist. The bench articulated a clear hierarchy of rights when individual liberty clashes with state security.
“Whenever the right to liberty of a person, who is suffering a preventive detention order, is pitched against public order maintenance of security of State, the first and foremost thing which needs to be considered is as to whether grant of liberty would in any manner prejudice the concept of public order and security of the State,” the court observed.
The bench further clarified that even a minor doubt regarding a potential breach of peace justifies the restriction of liberty. “Even if there is an iota of doubt in the mind of the competent authority that there is a possibility of public order or maintenance of security of the State being breached, then the liberty of an individual is rendered subservient and inconsequential,” the order stated.
Addressing the petitioner’s status as a sitting MP, the court referred to past judicial precedents concerning Article 105 of the Constitution. The bench held that a preventively detained legislator does not enjoy higher rights than an ordinary citizen in this context.
“No higher or special right is available to a preventively detained sitting Member of Parliament, than an ordinary citizen,” the court noted, adding that both are subject to the same obligations under Section 15 of the NSA.
The court also declined to scrutinize the underlying material that formed the basis of the state’s apprehension, noting that such decisions are based on the “subjective satisfaction” of the competent authorities.
Amritpal Singh was arrested on April 23, 2023, following a month-long manhunt triggered by the Ajnala incident. During that event, Singh and his supporters allegedly stormed a police station to demand the release of an aide. While his detention was extended under the NSA in April 2025, several of his associates were recently shifted from Assam back to Punjab.
Concluding that no “illegality or impropriety” was found in the Punjab government’s refusal, the High Court dismissed the petition without costs.
