The Punjab and Haryana High Court was on Wednesday informed that the Lok Sabha rules did not permit a Member of Parliament to attend proceedings through virtual mode, even as the Bench made it clear that it could not grant any interim relief in the matter as it would amount to virtually deciding the petition itself.
The submission came during the hearing of Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh’s fresh plea seeking quashing of the Punjab Government’s order rejecting his request for temporary release or parole to attend the ongoing Budget session of Parliament.
Appearing on behalf of the Lok Sabha Speaker, Additional Solicitor-General of India Satya Pal Jain told the Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu that there was no provision in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha permitting a member to appear or participate through virtual mode. He further submitted that constitutional requirements, including those under the anti-defection law, mandated physical presence and voting on the floor of the House, requiring a two-thirds majority of members present and voting for certain decisions.
The clarification was furnished after the Bench queried whether any rule enabled a detained MP to participate virtually, particularly when jails were equipped with video-conferencing facilities for court proceedings.
The Bench, at the outset, also heard submissions on the maintainability of the petition. During the course of hearing, it observed that no interim direction could be passed at this stage, as granting temporary release would effectively amount to allowing the final relief sought in the writ petition.
A letter dated February 9, addressed to Amritpal Singh, was also placed before the court on behalf of the Speaker. The communication stated that his absence from the House had extended to 37 days. It further recorded the settled position that when a member was under detention, he could attend sittings of the House “only with the permission of the competent court”. After hearing the parties, the Bench granted the State of Punjab 10 days to file its reply.
Amritpal Singh, currently under preventive detention under the National Security Act (NSA), has also sought directions to the Union of India, the State of Punjab and the Amritsar District Magistrate to allow his temporary release under Section 15 of the NSA to enable him to attend the Budget Session convened in phases from January 28 to February 13 and from March 9 to April 2.
In his petition, Amritpal Singh contended that the State dismissed his representation through an “illegal, vague, unreasonable and cryptic order”. He asserted that he wished to represent the people of his constituency before Parliament and highlight issues faced by them “in true spirit of democracy and in consonance with the Constitution of India”.
The petitioner submitted that he intended to raise the devastation suffered by 1,000 villages in his constituency during the August 2025 floods, the rampant rise of drug abuse in Punjab — “especially affecting his constituency as it was a border area” — and other developmental concerns.
Earlier, while disposing of his previous writ petition, the Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu had held that the power to grant temporary release under Section 15 of the NSA vested in the “appropriate Government” — in this case, the State government. The court had directed the Punjab Home Secretary to take a decision on his January 17 representation and communicate the outcome forthwith.
Amritpal Singh has consistently maintained that his detention was politically motivated and passed with mala fide intent to silence an elected representative of 19 lakh constituents, asserting that his continued detention undermined democratic rights and the will of the electorate