A day after Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking permission to attend the Budget Session of Parliament, a Judge on Thursday recused himself from hearing the plea. The case will now come up for further hearing on Friday before a specially constituted Bench. Amritpal Singh is currently under preventive detention under the National Security Act (NSA)
The Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry was initially of the view that the matter could be disposed of after asking the authority concerned to deal within six days his representation for grant of parole to attend the session. Before the order could be passed, Chief Justice Nagu asserted: “We have another problem, brother (Judge) is recusing. So it goes tomorrow in the special Bench. We’ll pass an order in the special Bench”.
The recusal came amid arguments touching upon the scope of preventive detention vis-à-vis the constitutional rights and privileges of an elected Member of Parliament. The court was informed that the issue required authoritative consideration, particularly as it involved balancing the rights of a detained MP against the State’s power to detain a person on grounds of national security and public order.
During the hearing, the Bench was requested on Amritpal Singh’s behalf to give the authorities concerned a shorter period for deciding his representation. His counsel argued that a week’s time was given earlier for deciding the representation, but this time four days’ time should be given.
The State of Punjab represented by senior advocate Anupam Gupta opposed the plea by asserting that Amritpal Singh was detained under a valid NSA order passed by the competent authority. The State further argued that the Budget Session of Parliament would commenced on January 28 and was divided into two phases, separated by a recess. “The session does not conclude on February 13; it continues in two parts, with the second half running from March to April,” the State submitted, while expressing its inability to deal with Amritpal’s representation before the commencement of the session as the decision-taking period stood interrupted by Republic Day celebrations.
Additional Solicitor-General Satya Pal Jain submitted that neither the Lok Sabha Speaker, nor the Government had anything to do with the permission. “It was only the detaining authority, who has to allow or reject”.
Amritpal Singh had moved the court stating that he had addressed representations to the Union of India, the Lok Sabha speaker and other respondents for granting parole and to allow him to attend the budget session of Parliament to be convened in two phases from January 28 to February 13 and from March 9 to April 2.
He added that the detention order was politically motivated passed with mala fide intent of silencing the petitioner, who was an elected Member of Parliament representing 19 lakh constituents. His continued detention undermined democratic rights and the Will of the electorate
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