In a significant development, the Centre informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday that a special committee has been established to review the cases of Members of Parliament who have been absent from sessions, including Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh. The announcement was made during the resumed hearing of Singh’s petition, where he seeks permission to attend Parliament amidst his incarceration.
The 15-member committee, led by West Tripura MP Biplab Kumar Deb and instituted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on February 24, aims to examine leave applications and address the broader implications of MPs’ absences on parliamentary proceedings. Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain presented this update to the bench comprised of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel.
Amritpal Singh, the head of the radical Sikh outfit Waris Punjab De, has been held under the National Security Act in Assam’s high-security Dibrugarh jail since April 23, 2023. His legal challenge argues that his prolonged detention without the ability to attend Parliament violates his constitutional rights and disenfranchises his constituents.
In his petition, Singh highlighted the critical impact of his absence, noting that missing more than 60 days could lead to his parliamentary seat being declared vacant. This situation, he argued, adversely affects nearly 1.9 million people in his constituency. He also expressed a need to engage with officials and ministers regarding local development projects under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).
Despite repeated attempts to secure permission to attend parliamentary sessions, including a formal request to the Lok Sabha Speaker on November 30 last year, Singh has not received the necessary approvals. Faced with a lack of response from governmental authorities, he resorted to seeking judicial intervention.
The high court, acknowledging the complexity of the situation and the submission from the Centre, adjourned the case to March 4, awaiting further developments.
Amritpal Singh won his parliamentary seat as an Independent candidate in the last election, securing his position with a substantial vote count. Since his oath of office on July 5, prior year, Singh has been unable to participate in any parliamentary session due to his ongoing detention, which followed a crackdown on his organization in March 2023.
