Jailed Khadoor Sahib Member of Parliament Amritpal Singh, currently detained under the National Security Act (NSA) and lodged at Dibrugarh Central Jail, Assam, appeared before the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday through videoconferencing, stating that his continued detention has brought all parliamentary work in his constituency to a standstill.
Appearing before a Bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry, Amritpal Singh chose to address the court personally due to the abstention from work by lawyers. He submitted that his prolonged detention was preventing him from discharging his constitutional responsibilities as an elected representative.
Amritpal told the court that the people of Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency were effectively left without a voice in Parliament, as he was unable to raise key public issues including floods, the drug menace, and alleged fake encounters. He informed the Bench that he had sought conditional bail to enable him to attend Parliament and raise these matters, but the request had not been granted so far.
Dressed in a white kurta and blue turban, Amritpal Singh addressed the court in a mix of English and Punjabi, emphasising that the issue extended beyond his personal liberty and directly impacted the electorate he represents. He pointed out that the NSA imposed on him had now entered its third year, curtailing his ability to participate in parliamentary proceedings.
“In the democratic system of India, an elected representative has the right to raise issues before Parliament. But the NSA imposed on me has been extended to its third year. These issues must be raised on the floor of the House,” he submitted.
The Bench expressed its readiness to hear Amritpal Singh on the matter, subject to his unequivocal assurance that he would not later seek an adjournment for arguments by counsel. Amritpal agreed to the condition.
The court also noted that senior advocate Anupam Gupta, appearing for the State of Punjab, could not complete his arguments during the previous hearing and was required to be heard further. In view of this, the Bench adjourned the matter and directed that it be taken up again at 2:00 pm in the post-lunch session for further hearing.