Parliamentary panel recommends 54-day leave for MP Amritpal Singh

New Delhi: A parliamentary panel has recommended a 54-day leave of absence for Punjab MP Amritpal Singh, who has been under detention in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act (NSA) since April 2023. The recommendation is based on two applications he submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker last year.

The committee, chaired by BJP’s Biplab Deb, stated in its report tabled in the Lok Sabha that Amritpal Singh had sought leave for 54 days in total—June 24 to July 2 (9 days), July 22 to August 9 (19 days), and November 25 to December 20 (26 days). The applications were submitted on November 30 and December 16, 2024.

Amritpal Singh had previously approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking permission to attend Parliament sessions. In his plea, he cited concerns over losing his Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat due to prolonged absence, which he claimed would leave 19 lakh constituents without representation.

The Centre is expected to submit the parliamentary committee’s report before the High Court, which is hearing Singh’s plea. During the last hearing, Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain had informed the court that the committee would submit its recommendations to the Speaker on March 10, after which they could be made public.

The panel had convened on March 3 to review the leave requests of Amritpal Singh and four other MPs.