Amritpal didn’t stop his ‘unlawful’ activities even in detention: Punjab to high court
There is material on record which proves that Amritpal Singh has been deeply involved in activities prejudicial to the security of the state and public order: Punjab govt
Underlining that there were no procedural lapses in invoking the National Security Act (NSA), 1980, afresh this year against Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, the Punjab government has told the high court that even in detention at Dibrugarh jail in Assam, the radical Sikh preacher continued his ‘unlawful activities’.
The same has been detailed in the detention order passed by the administration, the state government added.
The fresh detention order is entirely on fresh grounds, and the same is strictly in accordance with the law, the Punjab government informed the court, adding that the intelligence inputs showing his role are confidential/secret and can be produced by the state in a sealed cover before the court but can’t be made public.
The government response has come on the plea from Amritpal Singh seeking quashing of proceedings initiated against him under the NSA afresh this year by the Punjab government.
Amritpal, along with nine others from his outfit, has been lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail since April last year. They were detained following a crackdown on the ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit on March 18, 2023.
Booked under the NSA, Amritpal was detained on April 23, 2023, in a Moga village after almost a month-long chase since his escape on March 18, 2023. In April, the Punjab government re-invoked the NSA against all of them. He contested elections from the jail and was elected as an MP from the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat in the recently concluded parliamentary polls.
The Punjab government has said that it is wrong to state that he had been punished for being vocal. “There is material on record which proves that Amritpal Singh has been deeply involved in the activities prejudicial to the security of the state and public order,” the Punjab government reply added.
The state government has also denied allegations that he has been targeted for ‘political dissent’ and that through his arrest, the authorities have tried to send a ‘political message’ to him and people at large.
To his claims that he took oath as an MP, which displayed his faith in the Constitution, the state government said taking oath is an entirely different aspect because it cannot justify the petitioner’s actions against the security of the state and public order.
The evidence against him is sufficient to prove the allegations as to how he acted against the state, the government has claimed, adding that he has challenged his detention on ‘hypothetical grounds’ and no procedural lapses have been pointed out in passing of the detention order.
Meanwhile, the Centre has also submitted its response to the plea and said that after getting reports from the state government “it was felt that there was no reason to interfere with the detention order” as approved by the state government. The matter is now to be taken up on September 18.