The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday dismissed a petition by jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, who had challenged the Punjab government’s refusal to grant him parole to attend the ongoing budget session of Parliament.
Amritpal had approached the high court on February 11 after the state government rejected his parole request on February 2. Gautam Pathania, appearing alongside senior advocate Anupam Gupta for the Punjab government, confirmed the dismissal. The detailed order is awaited.
Arguments over DM’s authority
In his petition, Amritpal sought to quash the February 2 rejection, demanding temporary release or state arrangements for his personal attendance in Parliament. He argued that the rejection by the Amritsar district magistrate was illegal and arbitrary, claiming a DM lacks jurisdiction under Section 3(2) of the National Security Act (NSA).
Amritpal alleged his detention is “politically motivated” and designed to silence an elected MP representing 19 lakh constituents.
“The petitioner wants to represent the people of his Khadoor Sahib constituency before the Parliament and also to highlight the various issues faced by the people… in the true spirit of democracy,” the plea said.
It listed local issues Amritpal intended to raise, including the August-September 2025 Punjab floods, the drug problem, and stalled development works.
State cites security risks
Opposing the plea, the Punjab government argued that a single speech by Amritpal could trigger law and order issues in the state. The government counsel said that once inside Parliament, Amritpal could speak freely, with only the Lok Sabha Speaker having the power to regulate his speech.
Gupta argued that parole is neither a constitutional nor a fundamental right. Citing the 1951 K Anandan Nambiar judgment on the privileges of legislators under preventive detention, he contended that an MP cannot claim special status over an ordinary citizen.
Amritpal has been lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail under the NSA since April 2023. While nine of his accomplices were transferred back to Punjab last year, his detention was extended for another year by the Amritsar DM.
Since winning the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Amritpal has been granted parole only once, on July 5, 2024, to take his oath of office. He has not attended Parliament since. A similar request to attend the February 2025 session was denied by the government. In December 2025, he moved the high court to attend the winter session, but the session concluded before the court could decide the matter.
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