MP Amritpal Singh Moves P&H High Court For Attending Parliamentary Proceedings In Obedience With Summons Issued By Lok Sabha Secy General

MP Amritpal Singh who is currently detained under National Security Act (NSA) has approached the Punjab & Haryana High Court seeking direction to the Union, Punjab Government and other respondents to allow him to attend parliamentary proceedings in obedience to the summons issued by Lok Sabha General Secretary.

The writ petition states that Singh has been denied of his constitutional right because he is not being permitted due to preventive detention in Assam and is forced to remain absent from the parliamentary proceedings with malicious intent to get his parliamentary constituency goes unrepresented and further to get his seat vacant after 60 days of absence which will have serious consequences for the petitioner as well as for his constituency, Khadoor Sahib.

Singh stated in the plea that he formally requested the Lok Sabha Speaker on November 30, 2024 to allow him to attend the parliamentary session and that he had already been informed about his absence from parliamentary sittings for 46 days.

He had also made representations to the Deputy Commissioner/District Magistrate seeking permission to attend the sessions, but no response had been received, it added.

The plea further stated that even a member of Parliament under preventive detention has a right to attend Parliament Sessions as per the Constitution, the  right flows from Article 105. 

“An MP under preventive detention has the right to attend Parliament sessions. "

"The detaining authority must make arrangements for the MP to attend Parliament if it is in session. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha can issue a production order to ensure his presence of the detained MP in the House," it added.

It also alleged that "the grounds for detention are primarily based on social media posts shared by various individuals worldwide, which have little to no tangible impact on the security of Punjab. The law regarding social media posts permits even offensive comments, and provisions of the Information Technology Act criminalizing certain online actions were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court."

He also sought directions for authorities to permit him to meet officials and ministers regarding the implementation of the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme, which allows MPs to recommend development projects based on locally identified needs.

Title: Amritpal Singh v. UNION OF INDIA