Parliamentary panel recommends 54-day leave for detained Punjab MP Amritpal Singh

The parliamentary committee tasked with considering leave requests of Lok Sabha MPs Monday recommended a 54-day leave of absence for NSA detainee and Punjab MP Amritpal Singh based on two applications submitted by him in the past.

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Singh, who has been lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail since April 2023 under the National Security Act, submitted two requests to the Lok Sabha Speaker for leave of absence on account of detention in jail.

The first was made on November 30, 2024 and the second on December 16, 2024.

“The MP sought leave of absence for the following periods — June 24 to July 2 (9 days); July 22 to August 9 (19 days); November 25 to December 20 (26 days). In all, applications were put forward for a 54-day leave of absence,” the Committee on Absence of Members from the sittings of the House chaired by BJP’s Bipla Deb said in its report tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Earlier, Amritpal Singh, in his petition to the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking permission to attend the Parliament, said that he had submitted a request to the Lok Sabha Speaker on November 30 for permission to attend the parliamentary session and was then informed that he had already been absent for 46 days.

The MP argued in his petition that beyond 60 days of absence, he risked losing his Khadoor Sahib seat, leaving 1.9 million people without representation.

The Lok Sabha committee report however reveals Singh had made an application for leave of absence on November 30.

The report of the panel will be presented by the Centre before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, hearing Singh’s petition on parliamentary attendance.

On the last date of hearing, Additional Solicitor General of India Satya Pal Jain informed the court that the parliament panel would submit its recommendations to the Speaker on March 10, and until that is done, the panel’s recommendations, being confidential, could not be revealed.

The panel held its meeting to consider the leave of absence of Amritpal Singh and four other MPs on March 3.