The Centre told the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday that the matter of Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh’s absence from the Lok Sabha has been considered by the panel set up by the Speaker on February 24 and its recommendations would be placed before Parliament on March 10. As the hearing in the case resumed before the division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel on Tuesday, Additional Solicitor General of India Satya Pal Jain informed the court that the committee had deliberated on the leave requests of five MPs, including the Waris Punjab De leader, in a meeting on Monday. Jain said the committee has reviewed all applications and decided to submit its recommendations to the Lok Sabha on March 10, after which a final decision will be taken. It was on February 24 that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had set up a 15-member committee led by West Tripura MP Biplab Kumar Deb to examine leave applications submitted by MPs, including Singh. Jain further stated that the proceedings of parliamentary committees could not be disclosed until they were tabled in Parliament. In his petition, Singh has sought permission to participate in parliamentary sessions, arguing that his extended absence infringes upon his constitutional rights and leaves his constituency without representation. He has also contended that an absence exceeding 60 days could lead to his seat being declared vacant, affecting approximately 1.9 million constituents. Detained under the National Security Act, Singh has been held in Dibrugarh Central Jail since April 2023. He said that he submitted a request to the Lok Sabha Speaker on November 30 last year to attend the parliamentary session and was informed that he had already been absent for 46 days. Despite making representations to the deputy commissioner, he said, he had not received a response, prompting him to seek judicial intervention.
