Is panel on leaves for MPs in place? Punjab and Haryana High Court asks in Amritpal Singh case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday asked the Central government whether the 'Committee on Absence of Members from the Sittings of the House' has been constituted to enable members of Lok Sabha to apply for leave [Amritpal Singh v Union of India and Others]..The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel asked Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain to seek instructions in this regard and inform the Court on February 25.The Court was hearing incarcerated Member of Parliament (MP) Amritpal Singh’s petition seeking directions to permit him to attend the parliamentary proceedings in Lok Sabha. "It is probably that Committee has not been constituted which deals with matters of absentia," Chief Justice Nagu remarked..Singh, who has been detained under National Security Act (Act) in Assam since 2023, has moved the Court after he failed to receive any response on his request from District Magistrate Amritsar.“An MP under preventive detention has the right to attend Parliament sessions. This is because parliamentary privileges and duties take precedence over detention in non-criminal (preventive) cases,” he has argued.As per the plea, Singh's parliamentary constituency will be declared vacant for fresh election after his continued absence of 60 days from the parliamentary proceedings. Singh has been absent for over 46 days of parliamentary sittings. On leave application, Singh's counsel said he had applied for leave but no decision has been conveyed to him..Singh has also prayed for a direction to permit him to participate in meetings with officials and ministers for implementation of the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).“The petitioner has been forcibly detained and not allowed to attend the Parliament proceedings in spite of intent to do so and in such circumstances, it cannot be called absence but forced action by the authorities keeping the petitioner away from the Parliament which in strict terms in contempt of the Parliament,” the plea contends..Senior Advocate RS Bains, representing Singh, told the Court today that jail authorities do not even give him letters on time. "You cannot stop the communication from Lok Sabha Secretariat or censor it," he added.Bains said the MP fears that his seat will be declared vacant for continued absence. Singh is not voluntarily absent, he added. "He has only six days left now," he said.Bains also highlighted that he has been prevented from performing his functions as a public representative. The Bench remarked that the first half of Budget Session is already over and when Singh again receives summons to attend the parliament, he can move the Court then.However, Bains argued that judicial process takes time. He also submitted that Singh has prayed for permission to attend future sessions also..In response, Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain said any member of parliament can apply for leave and the committee setup for the purpose will then consider whether or not the reasons are valid. Jain also said detention is a ground for leave in parliament. The Court then asked Jain to find out whether the panel has been constituted or not..Senior Advocate RS Bains with advocates Sarabjot Singh Cheema, Anmoldeep Singh and Inderpal Singh Deol represented MP Amritpal SinghAdditional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain appeared for Union government. Advocate Shekhar Verma also represented a respondent.