Chandigarh- The Centre today informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that MP Amritpal Singh from Khadoor Sahib has been approved for 54 days of leave. This information was placed before a division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumit Goel at a time when the Lok Sabha Speaker had recently constituted a 15-member committee to examine the leave applications of MPs including Amritpal Singh.
As the matter came up for hearing again today, Additional Solicitor General of India Satya Pal Jain along with advocate Dheeraj Jain placed before the bench the letter issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat on March 11. The letter granted leave of absence for 54 days from June 24, 2024 to July 2, 2024, and from July 22, 2024 to August 9, 2024, and again from November 25, 2024 to December 20, 2024. Taking cognizance of the letter, the bench asserted, “As far as the petitioner’s apprehension of being expelled from Parliament due to his absence is concerned, his concerns are allayed by the letter dated March 11.”
Referring to the petitioner’s second plea seeking permission to meet the MPs and Ministers regarding Local Area Development Schemes to address local development projects, the bench said that since parliamentary sessions are conducted under rules, it would be appropriate for the petitioner to prefer to present his case before the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.”
Amritpal Singh, MP from Khadoor Sahib and head of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ organisation, is lodged in Dibrugarh Jail in Assam under the National Security Act (NSA). Amritpal Singh had sought permission to attend the parliamentary session in a petition filed through senior advocate R.S. Bains. The petitioner had argued that his continuous absence from Parliament is a violation of his constitutional rights. Amritpal said that if he remains absent from Parliament for 60 consecutive days, his seat can be declared vacant, which will directly affect the 19 lakh voters of his parliamentary constituency Khadoor Sahib. Amritpal Singh said that he had sought formal permission from the Lok Sabha Speaker on November 30 last year to attend the parliamentary session. Amritpal was told that he has already been absent from parliamentary sessions for 46 days. Despite making requests to the Deputy Commissioner/District Magistrate, Amritpal did not receive any response, which forced him to seek judicial intervention.