Amritpal moves plea for his release to take oath as MP

The family of radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh on Tuesday said that a plea for his temporary release or parole was submitted to the Dibrugarh jail superintendent so that the newly elected Khadoor Sahib MP can take the oath.

Addressing a press conference, Amritpal’s parents Tarsem Singh and Balwinder Kaur said: “The Dibrugarh jail superintendent will forward the plea to Amritsar deputy commissioner Ghanshyam Thori for further process. We are hopeful that the issue will be resolved soon.”

“We will wait for the state government’s response. If the government does not release him, we will initiate legal measures to ensure his release. As a last resort, we will start protests to ensure the release of Amritpal,” Tarsem said.

The radical Sikh preacher, who heads the outfit ‘Waris Punjab de’ won the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat by 1,97,120 votes as an independent candidate, defeating Congress’ Kulbir Singh Zira, while AAP’s Laljit Singh Bhullar came third.

As per Amritpal’s lawyer Imaan Singh Khara, the plea is being filed under Section 15 of the National Security Act (NSA), under which the radical Sikh preacher has been detained since March last year. Amritpal, who heads the outfit ‘Waris Punjab de’, is lodged in Dibrugarh jail along with his nine aides. Section 15 deals with the temporary release of the person detained by the government for any specified period either without conditions or upon such conditions specified in the direction as that person accepts, and may, at any time, cancel his release.

Tarsem also reiterated their demand that Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government revoke the National Security Act (NSA) invoked against the radical Sikh leader and his nine aides.

Tarsem and his mother Balwinder along with other Sikh leaders thanked the voters for their support.

Tarsem said, additionally, the Sikh organisations in the US have also approached the government seeking its intervention to secure the release of Amritpal.

“A prominent Sikh attorney Jaspreet Singh has written to the US vice-president Kamala Harris in this regard. We have learnt that Jaspreet has been invited to meet with the officials of the vice-president office. Besides, he is also taking up the issue with various senators there,” Tarsem said.

Meanwhile, a Delhi court will hear arguments on an application filed by Engineer Rashid seeking interim bail to take oath as an MP on June 18. He is being held in a 2016 Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case. Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, defeated former chief minister Omar Abdullah from the Baramulla constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Rashid contested as an Independent.

As per legal experts, once elected, to take the oath of office is a constitutional requirement for all members of Parliament.

“For this, the court may grant temporary bail to allow the elected representatives to attend the oath-taking ceremony in Parliament. Alternatively, the court can facilitate their swearing-in by sending them to Parliament in police custody only for the oath ceremony,” the legal expert added, pleading anonymity.