Panel on MP leaves constituted on Feb 24: Lok Sabha to Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday was informed that the 'Committee on Absence of Members from the Sittings of the House' was constituted on Monday to enable members of the Lok Sabha to apply for leave [Amritpal Singh v. Union of India and Others]..The Court was hearing the plea by detained Member of Parliament (MP) Amritpal Singh seeking directions to permit him to attend Lok Sabha proceedings. On February 21, the Court had asked Singh whether he had applied for leave from the Lok Sabha. The Court had also asked whether the panel on leaves for the MPs was in place. Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain today told the division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel that the committee has been constituted and comprises 15 members..Jain was representing the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha. He also said Singh has applied for leave."All the applications made by a member of Lok Sabha for seeking leave, including that of the petitioner, shall be considered by the said committee," Jain told the Court..Senior Advocate Anupam Gupta represented the State of Punjab..The matter was adjourned today as the counsel representing Singh was not available..Following his alleged attempts to revive the Khalistan movement in Punjab, Singh has been detained in Assam under the National Security Act since 2023. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Khadoor Sahib constituency a year later.He moved the Court after he failed to receive any response from the District Magistrate at Amritsar to his request to attend Parliament.“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 proceedings.Singh has been absent for over 46 days of Parliament sittings. His counsel said that 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.