Engineer Rashid, Amritpal will need court order to attend Parliament: Experts

Engineer Sheikh Abdul Rashid and Amritpal Singh, who contested and won the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls as independent candidates from behind bars, will have to take court’s permission to attend Parliament and will be escorted under heavy security, prison officials and legal experts said.

Rashid, lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), won the Baramullah seat in Jammu and Kashmir with 204,142 votes. Waris De chief and separatist Amritpal Singh, lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act (NSA), won the Khadoor Sahib seat in Punjab by a margin of 197,120 votes.

A Delhi prison officer, who asked not to be named, said, “There will be restrictions on use of cell phones or meeting any other person on the way apart from Parliament officials or other parliamentarians. Officers of the rank of ACP and inspector will be escorting them. Normally the jail officials informed police and give a photocopy of the order, which allows the jailed people to come out for a short time but with restrictions.”

PDT Acharya, former secretary general of the Lok Sabha, said that the escorting police teams can only come till the Parliament gates. “At the gates the alleged accused will be handed over to the Parliament security, who will then take them to the House.”

“If a person has not been convicted, they can contest elections and attend Parliament after getting permission. Once inside the House, the person can also address the House. But to come out for the oath ceremony or sessions of Parliament, the two will have to approach court each time,” Acharya added.

Advocate Navkiran Singh, an eminent human rights lawyer, said, “Amritpal Singh does not have any legal counsel because he voluntarily refused to challenge the NSA. We had gone to meet him, but he refused to challenge the NSA. Most likely, he may have to seek the court’s permission to attend Parliament.”

Advocate Sunil Kumar, who served as a law officer in Tihar for over three decades, said, “First the Speaker sends an invitation for the oath taking ceremony to the jail superintendent. Because the two are in judicial custody, the superintendent must inform the court and get permission. The court will then give permission along with the safety measures that police must take while the two men are outside the prison. In the late 80s or early 90s, I remember a case when a person from Punjab from prison had won state elections. He too was booked under terrorism charges and had to be escorted to Punjab under heavy security.”