Amritpal Singh case fails to make headway in absence of fresh detention orders

The Punjab and Haryana High Court was on Tuesday informed that fresh grounds of detention had not yet been supplied to Member of Parliament from Khadoor Sahib Amritpal Singh currently lodged in Dibrugarh Jail in Assam under National Security Act (NSA).

His counsel told the court that he did not have instructions, as of now, to challenge the third detention order.

Appearing before the Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel, senior advocate R.S. Bains, representing Amritpal, submitted that he would still press for adjudication on the matter already under consideration by the court.

Bains added the second detention order expired today.

The third detention order was yet to be supplied. But he had instructions to press the petition against the existing detention order being heard by the Bench.

He added the court was required to be determine whether social media posts could be used to as a material to detain an individual.

Initially, Amritpal and nine of his associates were detained under the NSA. But the State revoked the NSA against his associates in March and April this year, while extending his detention for a third year.

Senior advocate Anupam Gupta, appearing on the State's behalf, informed the Bench about the status of matters involving other detainees, most of which had been rendered infructuous following the expiry of the detention period. The matter will now come up for resumed hearing in July.