Chandigarh, April 20 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has allowed the Punjab government to keep radical Sikh leader and Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh in Assam's Dibrugarh jail post the National Security Act (NSA) detention period in the event of his arrest in the 2023 Ajnala violence case. Acting on a plea filed by the Punjab government, the bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sanjiv Berry said there were "sufficient reasons for this court to be satisfied that exceptional circumstances of live and proximate danger of breach of public order exist, in case he physically attends the trial court at Amritsar". Amritpal's third NSA detention, which started on April 23, 2025, ends on April 22. The high court order, passed on Friday and released on Sunday, allowed the Amritsar trial court to virtually conduct all proceedings concerning remand (police as well as judicial) in the said case to enable Amritpal to defend himself. "...order has been passed to prevent a possible breach of public order by making arrangements for respondent number 3 (Amritpal) to virtually appear in pre and post-trial proceedings...to be conducted by the trial court in Amritsar," it added. The FIR in the Ajnala violence was registered on February 24, 2023, and the trial against the other accused is currently underway at an Amritsar court. The hardliner was arrested two months after the February 2023 attack on the Ajnala police station, in which he led supporters, some brandishing swords and guns, to break through police barricades and barge into the police station on the outskirts of Amritsar city, clashing with the police to secure the release of an aide. Since his arrest from Moga's Rode village on April 23, 2023, under the NSA, he has been lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail, Assam. Despite his incarceration, the radical Sikh leader won the Khadoor Sahib seat with 1.9 lakh votes as an Independent in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and was administered the oath of office on July 5, 2024 - the lone occasion he has attended Parliament The Punjab government's demand was to allow it to arrest him in the Ajnala violence case after April 22, when his NSA detention ends and keep him lodged in the Assam jail. The government had also sought permission to carry out all other consequent proceedings upon the arrest through video-conferencing (VC). The government had underlined that intelligence inputs and Amritpal's background established an "alarming situation" that required the state to act in a proactive manner. It was also argued that the case involved not only the risk of violence or radicalism within jails, but a larger threat to the fabric of state sovereignty and public order. Amritpal's anti-national activities and those of his supporters could jeopardise state security and cause prejudice to public order, it had submitted before court. Among the grounds cited to keep him away from Punjab, the petition mentioned the grenade attack carried out on April 1 outside the Punjab BJP headquarters in Chandigarh, noting that a radical organisation, Sikh Tiger of Khalistan, took responsibility and threatened dire consequences for the restraints on Amritpal. The plea also cited the March 4 murder of YouTuber Nancy Grewal in Canada for openly criticising his activities; two people arrested in the murder were found to be his followers. The petition claimed that lawyers contesting cases against Amritpal and other critics had received threats to their life, resulting in an FIR registered on April 2. While allowing Punjab government's plea, the court also took note of assurance by the Assam government that it will ensure that Amritpal was allowed to seek legal assistance/advice/aid from his chosen attorney or from the legal aid panel, through virtual mode from Dibrugarh jail, for preparing his defence during pre- and post- trial hearings. The court has kept the matter pending and listed it for hearing on May 1. Amritpal has 12 more criminal cases registered against him, including that of murder and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) offences. However, this order would not be applicable in those cases. The government will have to seek fresh permission from the court to arrest him in these FIRs and keep him in Assam as and when he gets bail in Ajnala case....