Time continues to run out fast for Lok Sabha member Amritpal Singh to secure parole to attend the winter session of Parliament as the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday could not take up his plea due to the Bar’s continued abstention from work. The case has now been adjourned to December 18, leaving a razor-thin window before the winter session concludes on December 19.
The urgency of the matter was evident in open court as Chief Justice Sheel Nagu called for the advocates appearing in the case at least four times, but none responded. At one stage, the Chief Justice observed that the plea risked being rendered infructuous. The Bench, however, also observed that the parliamentary session might be extended, adding, “We don’t know.”
The Bench noted that the State of Punjab had already been heard at length, with senior advocate Anupam Gupta having stretched his submissions for almost two days while opposing the parole plea. Considering the time-sensitive nature of the matter, Amritpal Singh, who has been detained under the National Security Act since April 2023 and lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail, had on the previous day, December 16, appeared before the Bench through video-conferencing in view of the lawyers’ decision.
Addressing the court himself, the Khadoor Sahib MP had told the Bench that all work in his parliamentary constituency had come to a standstill due to his continued detention. He submitted that the NSA had prevented him from raising core public issues — floods, drugs and alleged fake encounters — on the floor of Parliament.
“The issue is not about me alone. It concerns the electorate I represent. Their parliamentary voice is not being heard,” Amritpal had told the court, asserting that his request for conditional release was aimed solely at enabling him to discharge his constitutional duties as an elected representative.
“In the democratic system of India, an elected representative has the right to raise issues before Parliament. All these issues need to be raised before Parliament,” he said.
The plea will now come up on December 18, just a day before the winter session is scheduled to conclude, even as the MP continues to remain incarcerated in distant Dibrugarh