3 min readChandigarhFeb 3, 2026 01:57 PM IST
The Punjab government Monday declined jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh’s application for temporary release to attend the ongoing Budget session of Parliament, citing “serious threat to the security of the state and the maintenance of public order”.
The decision, issued by the Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Home Affairs, comes in compliance with a Punjab and Haryana High Court directive dated January 23.
The High Court had directed the Punjab government to decide within seven working days on the representation of Amritpal —an NSA detainee — seeking temporary release to attend the Budget session. The Budget session commenced on January 28 and will continue till February 13 in the first phase. The second phase will take place from March 9 to April 2.
Amritpal’s counsel Imaan Singh Khara said they received state government’s reply on Monday.
Amritpal is lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail, Assam, under a preventive detention order passed by the District Magistrate, Amritsar.
In his representation dated January 17, Amritpal had sought temporary release to personally attend the Budget session. He had also requested authorities to make necessary arrangements for his presence in Parliament.
The Punjab government, however, declined the request, stating that Amritpal’s release, even temporarily, would pose a “serious threat/prejudice to the security of the State and the maintenance of public order.”
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The order references detailed grounds of detention that describe the MP’s activities as “highly dangerous” with the “potential and designs to imperil and subvert the security of the State.”
Both the District Magistrate, Amritsar, and the Senior Superintendent of Police, Amritsar (Rural), strongly opposed the temporary release in their comments submitted to the government.
The order heavily relies on constitutional precedents. It cites the 1966 Supreme Court Constitution Bench judgment in K. Anandan Nambiar and another Vs. Chief Secretary, Govt. of Madras and others, which held that a detained MP has no constitutional right to attend parliamentary sessions and enjoys no special status above an ordinary citizen. This principle was reaffirmed in the 1975 Constitution Bench ruling in Smt Indira Nehru Gandhi Vs. Shri Raj Narain & Anr.
“Taking into consideration the entire record and keeping in mind the gravity and enormity of the grounds of detention, and his conduct…necessitating his continuous and uninterrupted detention for the maximum period of twelve months… and the absence of any legally enforceable right to attend the session(s) of Parliament while in detention,” the government order reads.
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The decision was communicated to Amritpal via email and special messenger through the Superintendent of Dibrugarh Central Jail, as well as to his counsel, Senior Advocate R.S. Bains. Copies have also been sent to central ministries, the Director General of Police, Punjab, and other concerned authorities.
Amritpal, leader of Waris Punjab De, was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2024 while already in judicial custody in Assam in connection with various cases. His detention under the NSA was imposed shortly before the expiry of an earlier detention period, citing continued threat to national security and public order.
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