Parl panel allows Amritpal 54-day leave of absence from LS

Chandigarh: The parliamentary committee looking into Lok Sabha (LS) members' applications for leave of absence has recommended 54 days' leave of absence to jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh.
The committee on absence of members from the sittings of the House, headed by BJP MP from Tripura West Biplab Kumar Deb, on Monday, tabled its report in Lok Sabha. This is the first report of the panel which held a sitting on March 3.
As per the report, Amritpal, who is in Dibrugarh jail since April 2023 under the National Security Act, sent applications on Nov 30, 2024 and Dec 16, 2024, applying for a total leave of 54 days. The committee has recommended leave of absence from June 24, 2024, to July 2, 2024 (9 days); from July 22, 2024, to Aug 9, 2024 (19 days), and Nov 25, 2024, to Dec 20, 2024 (26 days).
Amritpal had approached Punjab and Haryana high court seeking permission to attend the LS session in compliance with the summons issued by the House secretary general. As per the jailed MP's plea in the court, he was unable to attend the sessions due to his preventive detention in Assam jail. Alleging malicious intent, he argued that the seat he represents as MP would be declared vacant if he remained absent for 60 days from the parliamentary proceedings.
A lawyer associated with his case said the next date of hearing in the case is on March 12 when the parliamentary committee report on his leave requests is likely to be submitted.
In its report on Monday, the committee also recommended 19-day leave to Baramulla MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh, who is also in jail in a terror case. Rashid, as per the report, had sent the application on July 30, 2024. A Delhi court reportedly denied Rashid custody parole to attend parliamentary session.
The committee also recommended leave of absence for three more MPs, one of whom passed away in Sept 2024 and the other two had sent leave of absence applications due to "self-illness" and "work in constituency and marriage in family".