Jailed MP and Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh seeks parole to attend Parliament, cites democratic right

New Delhi: Independent MP from Punjab's Khadoor Sahib, Amritpal Singh, who is lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh Central Jail under the National Security Act (NSA), appeared before the Punjab and Haryana High Court via video conference on Tuesday and personally argued his petition seeking parole to attend the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.

This was the first time Amritpal was seen in public since his detention under the NSA, as visuals from the jail surfaced during the video-conference hearing.

Invoking Indian democratic principles, Amritpal told the high court that raising issues related to his parliamentary constituency in Parliament was his democratic right. He sought permission to attend the Winter Session to highlight concerns including flood damage in his constituency earlier this year.

The MP argued before a Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjeev Berry that his continued detention had brought constituency-related work to a halt and was preventing him from raising key public issues such as floods, drug abuse and alleged fake encounters in Punjab.

Amritpal also countered the Punjab government's argument that granting him parole could adversely impact law and order in the state, calling it baseless. He said he only intended to travel to Delhi to attend the parliamentary session and had no plans to visit Punjab.

Notably, before becoming an MP and prior to his detention under the NSA, Amritpal had publicly rejected Indian democracy and the Constitution, while supporting the demand for a separate Khalistan.

The hearing could not be concluded as the Punjab government's counsel failed to appear due to the suspension of work by lawyers. The court has listed the matter for further hearing on Wednesday.

Amritpal Singh has approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the state government's refusal to grant him parole to attend the Winter Session of Parliament.