Chandigarh, March 27 – The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday dismissed a plea filed by jailed MP Amritpal Singh, seeking to overturn the Punjab government's order denying his request for temporary release to attend Parliament's budget session.
A bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry ruled that there were "no constitutional or legal grounds" to overturn the order.
The court also stated that "national interests are paramount when compared with personal interests."
In its February 2 order, the Punjab government had denied Amritpal's request for temporary release, citing "a serious threat to the security of the state and the maintenance of public order."
Amritpal (33), currently held in Dibrugarh jail in Assam under the National Security Act, had challenged the state government's order.
The high court, in its order, said, "The threat to public order and security of the State remains, as evidenced by detailed reports from the Amritsar District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police, Amritsar (Rural) dated January 22 and 21, 2026, respectively."
The court stated, "Whenever the right to liberty of a person who is under preventive detention is weighed against public order and the security of the State, the primary consideration is whether granting such liberty would prejudice the concept of public order and security of the State."
Even if there is any doubt in the mind of the competent authority that there is a possibility of public order or security of the State being compromised, then the individual's liberty is rendered subservient and inconsequential, the court said.
The sovereignty, integrity, and security of the State and nation are always paramount. An individual's right to speech or liberty is always subservient to the larger concept of public order and security of the State/Nation, the order stated.
We have no doubt that national interests are paramount when compared with personal interests, it said.
"While the arguments presented by the senior counsel for the Punjab State may or may not be accurate, the fact that the competent authority [Punjab State, the Amritsar District Magistrate, and the Senior Superintendent of Police, Amritsar (Rural)] have expressed concerns about the potential breach of public order and security of the State in the event of Amritpal's temporary release, we have no choice but to uphold the impugned order," the bench said.
The veracity of the material forming the basis of the apprehension of breach of public order cannot be questioned. Such apprehension, in the considered opinion of this court, is based on the subjective satisfaction of available material, it said.
Referring to some past cases related to Article 105 of the Constitution, the court stated that it has been categorically held that no special or higher rights are available to a sitting Member of Parliament who is under preventive detention, compared to a regular citizen.
Therefore, both a sitting Member of Parliament and a common man would be subject to the same privileges and obligations as contained in Section 15 of the National Security Act, it said.
In view of the above discussion, this court is of the considered opinion that no illegality or impropriety can be found in the impugned order, which accordingly stands upheld, and the present petition is dismissed without costs, the court held.
Amritpal had earlier moved the high court, seeking parole to attend Parliament's budget session.
The court in January had directed the Punjab government to decide within seven working days on Amritpal's request for temporary release to attend the budget session.
Subsequently, the Punjab government denied Amritpal's request for temporary release.
The budget session is being held in two phases – from January 28 to February 13, and from March 9 to April 2.
According to the plea, Amritpal sought to raise various issues, including the 2025 floods in Punjab, the rampant drug abuse in the state, and development issues related to his Khadoor Sahib constituency in Parliament.
Amritpal, the leader of the Waris Punjab De group, who adopted the image of slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was arrested in Rode village, Moga, on April 23, 2023, following a month-long manhunt.
The Punjab Police launched the crackdown after the February 23, 2023, Ajnala incident, in which Singh and his supporters allegedly broke through barricades and stormed a police station on the outskirts of Amritsar, and clashed with police for the release of his associates.
His detention was extended under the National Security Act in April 2023, even as his nine associates, who were also detained in Assam jail, were brought back to Punjab. These nine associates were arrested in connection with the 2023 Ajnala police station attack.