One Amritpal speech ‘can set five rivers afire’, Punjab tells HC

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today asked the State of Punjab to place before it the "foundational material" on the basis of which the order rejecting Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh’s parole plea to attend the winter session of Parliament was passed. The direction came after the state asserted in the court that even “a single speech” by the MP, who has been detained under the National Security Act in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail since April 2023, “can set the five rivers afire”.

The assertion was made before a Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu by senior advocate Anupam Gupta, representing the state. Opposing the plea for parole from December 1 to 19, Gupta said by granting Amritpal--whether physically, constructively or virtually--an access to a national or international platform would pose “a very serious danger to the safety and survival of Punjab”, and that “national survival and national defence are involved”.

Taking note of the submission, the Bench directed the state to place before it the material relied upon to reject the representation. The matter will be taken up again on Monday when the state is expected to produce what Gupta described as “voluminous material”.

The direction followed arguments by Amritpal’s senior counsel RS Bains, who suggested that the MP could attend the session through video-conferencing. Appearing for the Lok Sabha Speaker, Additional Solicitor General of India Satya Pal Jain opposed the suggestion, stating that no such provision existed. Responding to a court query, Bains conceded the absence of a statutory mechanism, but argued that evolving circumstances often necessitated new modalities, citing examples from the judiciary.

Countering Amritpal’s contention that non-appearance for 60 days before Parliament could culminate in his seat being declared vacant, Jain argued that his absence stood condoned till August 8. No further request for the same was received from his side. As such, the possibility of the seat being declared vacant was nil, he said.

Amritpal had earlier moved the high court after the Amritsar district magistrate dismissed his request for temporary release on November 24. The rejection, according to his petition, was “illegal, arbitrary and cryptic”, rooted in adverse comments by the district magistrate and the SSP (Rural), who termed his presence in Parliament a “threat to public order”.

Bains argued that such apprehensions were misplaced, given that Parliament lied outside Punjab’s territorial limits. The plea also claimed the detention was “politically motivated” and designed to “silence an elected representative of 19 lakh citizens”.

Amritpal, elected in the 2024 General Election with nearly four lakh votes, also invoked Section 15 of the NSA, which allows parole in exceptional circumstances. He further relied on the case of Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid, who was permitted by a Delhi court to attend parliamentary proceedings despite being in custody.

The high court had on November 21 directed the Punjab Home Secretary to decide Amritpal’s representation before the commencement of the session. With the state now insisting that even his “single speech could set the five rivers afire”, the Bench would examine the underlying intelligence and administrative inputs when the matter resumes on Monday.