The Centre informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday that Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh has been granted 54 days of leave.
This information was presented before a Division Bench led by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel, shortly after the Lok Sabha Speaker formed a 15-member committee to review MPs’ leave applications, including Amritpal Singh’s.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor-General of India Satya Pal Jain and advocate Dheeraj Jain submitted a letter from the Lok Sabha Secretariat dated March 11, which approved Amritpal Singh’s leave for three periods: June 24 to July 2, July 22 to August 9, and November 25 to December 20, 2024.
The court acknowledged the letter and stated that it addressed concerns about Singh's parliamentary absence affecting his membership.
Regarding Singh’s request for permission to meet officials and ministers to discuss Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) projects, the Bench stated that parliamentary conduct follows specific rules. The court advised him to submit a formal request to the Lok Sabha Speaker instead.
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Amritpal Singh, leader of Waris Punjab De, is currently detained in Dibrugarh Central Jail under the National Security Act.
Through senior counsel R S Bains, he had filed a petition seeking permission to attend parliamentary sessions, arguing that his prolonged absence violated his constitutional rights and left his constituency of nearly 19 lakh people unrepresented.
He also highlighted that if an MP remains absent for more than 60 days, their seat can be declared vacant. Singh had formally requested permission from the Lok Sabha Speaker on November 30, 2023, and was informed that he had already missed 46 days of parliamentary sessions.
With no response to his appeals from the Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate, he approached the court for intervention.
Also Read: Panel backs 54-day leave for Amritpal in Parliament
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