Parliamentary panel readies report on Amritpal Singh, other absent MPs
Just over a week after the Lok Sabha Speaker constituted a 15-member committee to examine leave applications of absent Members of Parliament, including Amritpal Singh, the Centre today informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the matter had been considered and the committee’s recommendations would be placed before Parliament on March 10.
As the matter came up for resumed hearing before the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel, Additional Solicitor-General Satya Pal Jain, along with advocate Dheeraj Jain, informed the Bench that the committee considered the leave requests of five MPs, including Amritpal Singh, during a meeting on Monday.
“The committee considered all applications and decided to make its recommendations to the Lok Sabha on March 10. The final decision will be taken by the House,” Jain submitted.
He further informed the court that the proceedings of Parliament committees were confidential and could not be made public until placed before Parliament.
Amritpal Singh, Khadoor Sahib MP and leader of Waris Punjab De, is currently lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail under the National Security Act. In his petition, he has sought permission to attend parliamentary sessions, arguing that his prolonged absence violates his constitutional rights and leaves his constituency unrepresented. He has also pointed out that an absence exceeding 60 days can result in his seat being declared vacant, affecting nearly 19 lakh constituents.
He has further requested authorisation to meet officials and ministers regarding the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) to address local development projects. Amritpal submitted that he formally requested permission from the Speaker on November 30 last year to attend the session and was informed that he had already been absent from sittings for 46 days. Despite sending representations to the deputy commissioner/district magistrate, he did not receive a response, prompting him to seek judicial intervention.
