Amritpal Singh parole case: High Court gives Punjab govt one week to take a decision
PTC News Desk: Two days after Lok Sabha MP Amritpal Singh approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court asking for temporary release so he could attend the Parliament’s winter session from December 1 to 19, the High Court on Friday told the state government to decide on his request within a week, ideally before the session begins.
Amritpal is being held in Dibrugarh under the National Security Act (NSA), and he cited Section 15 of the Act, which allows parole in special situations.
During the hearing, the Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry asked Amritpal’s lawyer, senior advocate RS Bains, whether Amritpal was prepared for the upcoming session. Additional Solicitor-General Satya Pal Jain told the court that only the state’s competent authority can give him permission to attend Parliament.
Bains said that requests for Amritpal’s temporary release had already been sent to all concerned authorities, including the District Magistrate and the state government. He also mentioned that a formal request dated November 13 was sent to both the Amritsar District Magistrate and the Punjab Home Secretary.
“What is your preparation? You must have got the agenda. How will you participate? What is your research work? You are talking about your rights. Now, we will also talk about your duty as a Member of Parliament. Which item are you going to discuss there and speak on? or will he be just a silent spectator?” Chief Justice Sheel Nagu asked, while speaking for the Bench.
“He was very vocal when he was free and that is why he was detained. His constituency is under flood, 800 villages in his constituency are under flood and misery”, Bains added.
However, Additional Advocate-General Chanchal Singla argued that Amritpal had only sent a representation and not an application in the proper format. The Bench then instructed the state to treat the representation as an application.
Amritpal’s petition, filed by his lawyer Imaan Singh Khara, said that although he has been in preventive detention since April 2023, he was elected as an MP from Khadoor Sahib in the 2024 general election with nearly four lakh votes and still represents about 19 lakh people. He has asked the court to order the central and state governments to release him on parole or, if that is not possible, to allow him to attend Parliament in person during the session.
- PTC NEWS
