SC rejects plea challenging election of jailed Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh as Lok Sabha MP
Singh, who won the recent general election as an independent candidate, is in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act.
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a petition filed against the election of Amritpal Singh, the jailed Sikh separatist and chief of pro-Khalistan group Waris Punjab De, as a Lok Sabha MP, PTI reported.
Singh, who won the recent general election from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib as an independent candidate, is in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act.
In the court on Friday, the petitioner told a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan that a person is not qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in Parliament unless he is a citizen of India under Article 84 of the Constitution. Article 84 deals with the required qualifications for membership to Parliament.
“In this case, respondent number four [Amritpal Singh] had said that he does not owe allegiance to the Constitution of India,” the petitioner claimed.
In response, the bench asked the petitioner to file an election petition. Such a petition refers to the procedure for challenging the result of a parliamentary election.
The petitioner told the court that he was not a voter from the Khadoor Sahib constituency. However, he was “deeply hurt” by the statements made by Singh earlier.
“It is a matter of evidence,” the bench said. “There are procedures prescribed. There are provisions in the Representation of the People Act.”
The bench refused to entertain the plea and dismissed it.
On April 23, 2023, the Punjab Police arrested the self-styled Sikh preacher from Punjab’s Moga after he had been on the run for over a month. The 29-year-old was flown to Assam on a special flight and sent to the Dibrugarh Central Jail.
The Punjab Police began cracking down on members of Waris Punjab De, or heirs of Punjab, days after Singh and his supporters stormed a police station in Amritsar on February 23, 2023. This came after one of Singh’s aides was arrested for alleged assault and attempted kidnapping.
Singh had garnered a significant following with his speeches centred around Punjab’s youth and the Sikh religion. He had also publicly supported the demand for Khalistan, an independent state for Sikhs.
