Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh Challenges Rejection of Parole Plea in High Court

Khadoor Sahib Member of Parliament Amritpal Singh has once again approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court after the Punjab Government rejected his request for temporary release from Dibrugarh Central Jail to attend the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament scheduled from December 1 to 19.

In his latest petition, filed on Friday, Amritpal Singh has challenged the November 24 order dismissing his plea for temporary release/parole. The petition asserts that the government’s decision was “illegal, arbitrary, and cryptic”, lacking any reasonable justification. His counsel also drew the court’s attention to the precedent of Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid, who was earlier permitted by a Delhi court to attend Parliament despite being in custody.

Taking up the matter, a Division Bench led by Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra has listed the case for hearing on Monday. During the proceedings, counsel for Amritpal Singh pointed out that the Punjab Government had been directed to decide on the parole application within a week, but dismissed it two days prior.

The case is expected to be heard by a Bench headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, as the earlier directive requiring the Home Secretary to decide the November 13 application originated from that Bench. That order, issued on November 21, had instructed the state to take a decision “preferably before the commencement of the Parliament session.”

In his plea, the Khadoor Sahib MP contends that his continued detention under the National Security Act (NSA) is “politically motivated” and intended to silence an elected representative serving nearly 19 lakh constituents. He further argues that concerns raised by district authorities — claiming his release would pose a threat to public order — are unfounded, since Parliament convenes outside Punjab’s jurisdiction.

Amritpal Singh, detained since April 2023, had also previously invoked Section 15 of the NSA, which allows parole under exceptional circumstances. Despite his preventive detention, he was elected as MP from Khadoor Sahib in 2024 with nearly 4 lakh votes.

The matter will be taken up again on Monday, December 1, when the High Court is expected to hear arguments regarding the legality of the government’s order and the MP’s request to attend Parliament.