The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday dismissed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh’s challenge to his continued preventive detention under the National Security Act.In a related development, it agreed to urgently hear the Punjab Government’s fresh plea seeking permission to arrest him in Assam and keep him lodged in the Dibrugarh jail beyond the expiry of his NSA detention on April 23.“It is clear as daylight that the impugned order of preventive detention passed against the petitioner is immune from powers of judicial review. Consequently, the petition stands dismissed,” the Bench headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu observed in an open court while rejecting the plea against the third successive detention order issued in April last year.The Bench asserted that the grounds of preventive detention were clearly indicative of reasonable apprehension in the mind of the competent authority/District Magistrate –– “based on subjective satisfaction founded upon objective material” –– that there was all likelihood of public order and the security of the state being prejudiced if the petitioner was not preventively detained by the impugned order.“The material available on record reveals that there was sufficient material before the District Magistrate, Amritsar, to safely arrive at a reasonable satisfaction that if the petitioner is not preventively detained, the situation of breach of public order and security of the state may arise,” the Bench asserted.Appearing before the Bench, the state pressed for the immediate hearing of its fresh petition, asserting that Amritpal’s preventive detention was ending on April 23. Taking note of the urgency, the Bench listed the matter for hearing later during the day. The hearing, however, was adjourned till Friday as Amritpal’s counsel did not have an “advance copy” of the petition.Appearing before the court, the state’s counsel made it clear that Punjab did not want Amritpal to be brought back to the state. “We don’t want him in Punjab. We want to arrest him and keep him there. The trial will be conducted through videoconferencing,” the counsel submitted, adding that the move was based on intelligence inputs and security considerations.The state said it intended to arrest him in a pending FIR and sought the court’s nod to keep him in Dibrugarh Central Jail, with the investigation at a “designated place” in Assam. It also requested permission to conduct all judicial proceedings — from production and remand to filing of the chargesheet — through videoconferencing in accordance with the High Court rules.Responding to the Bench’s query on the legal basis, the state referred to enabling provisions in the High Court rules and orders, and pointed out that the Assam Government had already granted a no-objection. “Yes, the state of Assam has given us the no-objection… we are seeking the petition to be listed today, because on April 22, we have to go to arrest him there,” the counsel said.The state, in its plea, has flagged serious security concerns, asserting that his return to Punjab could disturb public order. It has alleged that Amritpal had been “indulging in activities against the maintenance of public order and security of the state, and committing other criminal offences also”, while referring to multiple cases against him, including grave charges.The government further pointed to the “latest activities” of his supporters, claiming that his presence in Punjab “would not only prejudice the maintenance of public order but also adversely threaten the security of the state”.Amritpal has been lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail since April 2023 under preventive detention. As the NSA period is set to expire on April 23, the High Court will now examine whether the state can secure his continued custody through a fresh arrest while keeping him outside Punjab.