Punjab & Haryana High Court Directs Punjab Govt to Decide Parole Plea of Detained MP Amritpal Singh to Attend Parliament Budget Session
Case Name: Amritpal Singh v. Union of India and Others
Date of Judgment: 23 January 2026
Citation: CWP-1728-2026
Bench: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sheel Nagu (Chief Justice) and Hon’ble Mrs. Justice Archana Puri
Held: The Punjab and Haryana High Court disposed of the writ petition filed by a sitting Member of Parliament under preventive detention, holding that the power to grant temporary release/parole under Section 15 of the National Security Act, 1980 lies with the “appropriate Government”, which, in the present case, is the State Government of Punjab. The Court directed the Home Secretary, Government of Punjab, to decide the petitioner’s pending representation seeking temporary release to attend the Budget Session of Parliament within a fixed time-frame.
Summary: The petitioner, a sitting Member of Parliament from Khadoor Sahib Constituency, is presently under preventive detention pursuant to an order dated 17.04.2025 passed by the District Magistrate, Amritsar. He approached the High Court seeking temporary release/parole under Section 15 of the National Security Act, 1980 to enable him to attend the Budget Session of Parliament scheduled to be held in two phases between January and April 2026. A further prayer was made for issuance of directions to ensure his personal attendance in Parliament and for expeditious consideration of his representation dated 17.01.2026.
It was not disputed that the petitioner was lodged in Central Jail, Dibrugarh, Assam, and that his representations addressed to the authorities, including the Home Secretary, Department of Home Affairs and Justice, had remained undecided. On behalf of the Union of India, it was submitted that the competent authority to deal with such a request would be the authority under whose order the preventive detention was passed.
The Division Bench examined the statutory framework of the National Security Act, 1980 and referred to the definition of “appropriate Government” under Section 2(1)(a) of the Act. The Court noted that where a detention order is passed by an officer subordinate to a State Government, the State Government becomes the appropriate authority for exercising powers under Section 15 of the Act.
Since the detention order in the present case was passed by the District Magistrate, Amritsar—an officer subordinate to the State Government—the Court held that the Government of Punjab alone is competent to consider and decide the petitioner’s request for temporary release/parole. The Court clarified that it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the request itself, but was only ensuring that the competent authority exercises its statutory jurisdiction.
Decision: The writ petition was disposed of with a direction to the Home Secretary, Department of Home Affairs and Justice, Government of Punjab, to decide the petitioner’s representation dated 17.01.2026 within seven working days. The outcome of the decision was directed to be communicated forthwith to the petitioner as well as his counsel.