Parole plea: Amritpal Singh appears before HC through video conferencing

Chandigarh, Dec 16 (PTI) Jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh on Tuesday appeared before the Punjab and Haryana High Court through video conferencing and argued on his plea for parole to attend the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.

Amritpal Singh (32), a Khalistani sympathiser who has been lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail following his detention in April 2023 under the National Security Act, has challenged the Punjab government's decision denying him parole to attend the Winter Session of Parliament.

With lawyers abstaining from work in protest against an alleged assault incident, Singh chose to argue his case, telling a bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry that his detention had stalled his ability to function as an elected representative of his constituents. He said that he has filed the petition for parole so that he could take up the issues concerning his Khadoor Sahib constituency.

The matter will now be taken up on Wednesday.

The lawyers abstained from work on Tuesday to protect against an incident of alleged assault on an advocate.

One of Singh's counsel told the media later that the MP appeared through video conferencing before the court.

The Punjab government had earlier rejected the representation of Amritpal for temporary release while citing law and order issues following reports from the Amritsar deputy commissioner and the Amritsar police.

On November 21, the high court had directed the Punjab government to decide within a week on Amritpal's representation seeking temporary release to attend the session.

One of the counsel representing Amritpal had recently told reporters that the lawmaker just wanted to discharge his parliamentary duties in custody.

The state counsel, however, had opposed the parole, saying allowing the Khadoor Sahib MP any platform, physical or virtual, carried "grave risks." Singh has sought temporary release under the provisions of Section 15 of the National Security Act, 1980 (pertaining to the temporary release of persons detained), to allow him to attend the Parliament session till December 19.

He had requested the court to direct the Union and state government authorities to permit his release on parole, with a further prayer for directions to them to make appropriate arrangements for the personal attendance of the petitioner for the winter session of Parliament, "in the interest of justice, equity and fair play".

Amritpal, the chief of the Waris Punjab De group, who styled himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was arrested in Moga's Rode village on April 23, 2023, following a manhunt of over a month.

The Khalistani sympathiser had escaped the police net in Jalandhar district on March 18, 2023, switching vehicles and changing appearances.

The Punjab Police had launched the crackdown after the February 23, 2023, Ajnala incident in which Singh and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, allegedly broke through barricades and barged into the police station on the outskirts of Amritsar city, and clashed with police for the release of his aides.

Singh had fought the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as an independent and won from the Khadoor Sahib seat.

His detention was extended under the NSA in April, even as his nine associates, who were also detained in the Assam jail, were brought back to Punjab.

The nine were arrested in connection with the 2023 Ajnala Police Station attack.

The NSA empowers the Centre and states to detain individuals to prevent them from acting in a manner "prejudicial to the defence of India". The maximum detention period is 12 months, though it can be revoked earlier. PTI SUN VSD RT RT