The Punjab and Haryana High Court was informed on Wednesday that there is no provision under the rules of the Lok Sabha allowing Members of Parliament to participate in House proceedings through virtual mode.
A division bench led by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu was hearing the petition filed by jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, who challenged the Punjab government’s refusal to grant him temporary release to attend the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament.
Appearing for the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Union of India, Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain submitted that the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha require the physical presence of MPs for participation. He clarified that there is no mechanism enabling virtual attendance.
Responding to the court’s query on whether an MP could attend the session virtually, Jain said the constitutional scheme necessitates physical attendance. He also informed the bench that the Lok Sabha Secretariat had communicated with Amritpal Singh on February 9, stating that in the case of detained MPs, permission to attend proceedings must be granted by the detaining authority—not the Lok Sabha.
The letter also recorded that Amritpal has been absent from the House for 37 days. Jain added that an MP’s seat may be declared vacant if there is an absence of 60 consecutive sitting days, unless a designated committee condones it upon application.
Amritpal Singh, who is currently lodged in Dibrugarh jail in Assam under the National Security Act (NSA), had sought parole to attend the Budget Session, which runs in two phases—January 28 to February 13 and March 9 to April 2.
The High Court had earlier directed the Punjab government to decide his representation within seven working days. However, the government declined the request citing a “serious threat to the security of the state and maintenance of public order.”
According to his plea, Amritpal wanted to raise issues such as the 2025 floods in Punjab, rising drug abuse, and development concerns of his Khadoor Sahib constituency.
Amritpal, who leads the ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit and is seen as a Khalistan sympathiser, was arrested on April 23, 2023, in Moga after a month-long manhunt that began with the violent Ajnala police station incident in February 2023.
During that episode, his supporters, some armed with swords and firearms, stormed a police station demanding the release of his aides.
He contested and won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Khadoor Sahib as an independent candidate while under detention. Although several of his co-accused have been returned to Punjab, his own detention was extended in April 2025.
Amritpal had earlier sought to attend the Winter Session, but his plea became infructuous as the court proceedings did not conclude before the session ended.
