The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday adjourned hearing on the plea from Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, seeking directions to Centre and Punjab to allow him to attend Parliament, for February 25.
During the hearing, the high court bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sumeet Goel asked additional solicitor general of India Satya Pal Jain to apprise court by the adjourned date whether the committee, which looks into issues related to absence of MPs from the House, has been constituted.
During the hearing, Jain told court that any member of Parliament can apply for leave and then the committee concerned looks into whether reasons are valid or not. Detention is one of the grounds for leave, he further informed the court while seeking to further clarify the position by adjourned date.
Earlier, during hearing, Amritpal’s counsel, senior advocate RS Bains had told court that if a member is absent from parliamentary sittings continuously for 60 days, he/she loses membership. As per a communication from the Lok Sabha secretariat, he has been absent for a total of 46 days till December 12, 2024. Now only six days are left, he further submitted.
It was further informed that Amritpal petitioned the authorities—deputy commissioner, Amritsar, to allow him to attend Parliament proceedings, however, the representation remains pending.
“It is malicious intent from the authorities so that the petitioner’s parliamentary constituency goes unrepresented. The petitioner has been forcibly detained and not allowed to attend Parliament proceedings despite his intent to do so, and in such circumstances, it cannot be called absence but forced action by the authorities keeping the petitioner away from the Parliament, which in strict terms is contempt of Parliament,” plea reads.
The plea further argues that even an MP under preventive detention has a right to attend Parliament sessions. “This is because parliamentary privileges and duties take precedence over detention in non-criminal (preventive) cases. The detaining authority must make arrangements for the MP to attend the Parliament if it is in session, “ the plea added.
He has also cited case of Engineer Rashid, MP from Baramulla, who is being probed in a terror funding case under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Rashid got parole to attend Lok Sabha for two days earlier this month.
A radical Sikh preacher, Amritpal, won the Khadoor Sahib seat with 1.9 lakh votes as an independent and was administered the oath of office on July 5 last year. Since then, he has not attended the Parliament.
He has been in Dibrugarh Central Jail since his arrest along with nine others after a month-long chase on April 23, 2023. They were detained following a crackdown on his Waris Punjab De outfit on March 18, 2023. In April 2024, the Punjab government re-invoked the NSA against all of them.
