New Delhi: In his petition challenging his preventive detention under the National Security Act (NSA), the newly elected-jailed Parliamentarian from Punjab, Amritpal Singh, has affirmed his allegiance to the Constitution of India and said his success in the recent Lok Sabha polls falsified the State’s misinformation that he has no faith in the country’s rule book.
Singh Friday moved a writ petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, in which he has sought quashing of the entire proceedings initiated against him under the NSA, including the recent order of June 2024 that confirmed the fresh detention order against him that was passed in March this year.
ThePrint has learnt that Singh’s petition is listed under objections and is likely to be heard in the coming week.
A Member of Parliament from Khadoor Sahib, Singh fought Lok Sabha elections from jail. He is lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh Central Jail where he was moved from Punjab in April last year, soon after the detention order was issued against him by the Punjab government’s Home Department.
Singh has mentioned in his petition that his election to the Lok Sabha “amply justified” that he was delivering a political message to the people of Punjab, which the detaining authorities termed as anti-national while making it grounds to book him under NSA.
On his belief in the Constitution, Singh’s petition said that the process of elections in India makes it obligatory for every candidate to swear allegiance to the Constitution, first when nomination papers are filed and then after the election result is declared.
“Petitioner has taken oath under the Constitution of India, first at the time of filing the nomination papers and on second time when he was given permission to come to Delhi and to Lok Sabha and has duly taken oath under Constitution of India to be member of the Parliament and has earned a right to represent the best interest of his constituency and the state of Punjab,” Singh’s petition states.
A diploma holder in mechanical engineering, Singh in 2012 moved to Dubai where he worked as an operation manager at a company named Sandhu Cargo Transport.
Singh emerged as an active supporter of the anti-farm laws movement that broke out in India in 2019. He expressed his support for it via social media and even travelled to India to participate in demonstrations. Singh moved back to Dubai after the laws were repealed. Later, he went on to head the pro-Sikh separatist organisation Waris Punjab De upon the death of its earlier leader, Deep Sidhu.
Thereafter, Singh, as per his petition, travelled to rural and urban areas of Punjab where he received huge public response from the young and old alike. His petition stated that during his visits he felt that the “Punjab needs a major political campaign to get rid of the established political parties who not only turned corrupt in character, but also have abandoned the interest of Punjab and the people.”
The petition lists out multiple technical grounds on which Singh has assailed his preventive detention order. It also calls the detention order a political move against Singh to prevent him from “raising awareness” about the issues faced in Punjab.
The petition speaks about the abuse of the “draconian” law and how it has been used “consistently” against political dissent under all regimes. According to Singh his detention indicates “intolerance” and “intent to muzzle the voice of a popular upcoming leader of Punjab.”
His election as an MP has proven the established norm that “unjustified detention in democracy” brings “great popularity”, the petition asserts. Hence, Singh wants the HC to “silence” the “unfounded allegations that were hurled” at him.
Singh’s petition challenges the detention order on the ground that it was issued by an unauthorised officer. The district magistrate of Amritsar had issued the NSA order, while, according to Singh, in his case — where allegations of his actions being prejudicial to the security of India have been made — only the central government or state government could have issued it.
Further, the grounds of detention are not only irrelevant, but are also vague because they do not pertain to any action done by Singh, the petition has claimed.
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