Overview
- A division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Archana Puri directed a decision within seven working days on Amritpal Singh’s January 17 plea seeking temporary release to attend Parliament.
- The bench identified the Punjab home secretary as the competent authority and framed the request under Section 15 of the National Security Act.
- The court ordered that the outcome be communicated immediately to Singh in Dibrugarh jail and to his counsel.
- During the hearing, the Additional Solicitor General noted that Singh has missed 32 Lok Sabha sittings that have largely been condoned, with disqualification triggered only after 60 unpermitted absences.
- Singh, detained under the NSA since April 2023 and previously paroled to take his oath on July 5, 2024, had an earlier winter-session challenge rendered infructuous; the Budget Session begins January 28 in two phases.