The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a petition filed by radical Sikh preacher and Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, challenging his detention under the National Security Act (NSA), 1980.
A bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria directed Singh to first approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court for relief. The bench also requested the High Court to decide his plea within six weeks of its filing.
Amritpal Singh, 32, who heads the Waris Punjab De organisation, is presently lodged in Dibrugarh jail in Assam, where he has been detained since March 2023 under the NSA following a state-wide crackdown on his associates.
Despite being in custody, Singh contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate and won from Khadoor Sahib constituency in Punjab.
His detention under the NSA stems from allegations related to activities threatening public order and national security. By declining to interfere at this stage, the apex court has effectively left the matter to be adjudicated by the jurisdictional High Court.
