7 aides of Amritpal withdraw petitions as NSA nears expiry

Seven petitions filed by associates of Amritpal Singh challenging their detention were withdrawn after the Punjab Government decided not to re-invoke the National Security Act (NSA) in their cases. The matter was taken up by the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel.

Amritpal Singh, the Member of Parliament from Khadoor Sahib and leader of Waris Punjab De, is currently detained in Dibrugarh Central Jail under the NSA. Senior advocate Anupam Gupta, specially appointed by the Punjab Government to appear on its behalf before the Bench, stated on Tuesday that the petitions were disposed of.

Detailed orders by the Bench are awaited. The petitioners included Kulwant Singh Rauke, Gurmett Singh Bukkanwala, Papalpreet Singh, Basant Singh and Bhagwant Singh alias Bajeke.

Gupta said the NSA had either expired or was set to expire between April 17 and 19 in all these cases. “In no case has the NSA been withdrawn. They are being released upon the expiry of the NSA,” he said after the hearing.

Meanwhile, the petitions of Amritpal Singh, Sarabjeet Singh Kalsi and Gur Aujla remain pending, with the next hearing scheduled for March 23. Amritpal Singh’s NSA detention is set to expire on April 22 and the case will come up for further hearing on March 25.