Decide on Amritpal plea in 7 days: HC to Punjab govt

Chandigarh: Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday directed the Punjab home secretary to decide within seven days Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh's plea for temporary release from jail to attend the upcoming budget session of Parliament.The radical Sikh preacher has been in Dibrugarh jail under National Security Act since April 2023.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Archana Puri observed that since the order of preventive detention was passed on April 17 by the Amritsar district magistrate (DM), state govt is the competent authority as per Section 2(1)(a) of NSA 1980 to deal with the kind of request made by the petitioner."Accordingly, the petition stands disposed of with a direction to the home secretary, govt of Punjab, to decide the application already filed by the petitioner, within a period of seven working days. The outcome of the representation, made by the petitioner, be communicated to the petitioner and his counsel," HC ordered.Satya Pal Jain, additional solicitor general of India, represented central govt.In his plea, Amritpal has sought directions to allow him to attend the budget session of Parliament that's to be convened in two phases —Jan 28-Feb 13 and March 9-April 2. He claimed to have submitted representations to the Union of India, Lok Sabha Speaker and other authorities for grant of parole.He has contended that as an MP, he is obligated to attend parliamentary sessions and participate in legislative debates to voice the concerns of his over 19 lakh constituents and fulfil his constitutional responsibilities.