Radical Sikh leader and Khadoor Sahib MP from Punjab, Amritpal Singh, who is lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail under the National Security Act (NSA), appeared before the Punjab and Haryana High Court via video conferencing on Tuesday.
MP Amritpal Singh during today’s court hearing, his first public visual since being detained under the National Security Act (NSA) in 2023. He appeared before the Punjab & Haryana High Court via video conferencing. With lawyers on strike, he argued his case himself, seeking… pic.twitter.com/93H7gQnVVS
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Singh told the court that all work in his parliamentary constituency had come to a standstill and that his detention was preventing him from raising core public issues, such as floods, drug abuse, and alleged fake encounters, on the floor of Parliament.
According to reports, Amritpal argued his case himself in the absence of a lawyer due to a strike.
He contended that his detention under the NSA had brought operations in his parliamentary constituency to a complete halt. The Khadoor Sahib representative said that although he had sought conditional bail to address these issues, his request had so far been denied. He stressed that the matter went beyond his personal circumstances and concerned the people he represents, whose grievances deserve parliamentary attention.
Dressed in a white kurta and blue turban, the MP addressed the court in both English and Punjabi, underscoring his desire to fulfil his constitutional duties by participating in parliamentary proceedings and advocating urgent constituency-related issues. “Within India’s democratic framework, an elected representative has the right to raise issues in Parliament. However, the NSA order against me has now entered its third year… These matters require parliamentary attention,” he told the court.
The court expressed its willingness to hear his arguments but stipulated that he must clearly commit to not seeking a later adjournment on the ground that legal counsel needed to present arguments. Singh agreed to this condition.
The court also noted that senior advocate Anupam Gupta, representing the Punjab government, had been unable to complete his submissions during the previous hearing and required additional time. In view of this, the matter was adjourned and scheduled to resume at 2 p.m. during the afternoon session.
