Jailed Amritpal Singh, Engineer Rashid win in LS polls; what happens next?
What happens next for Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh and Engineer Rashid who have won from their respective constituencies in the recent LS polls? Both are currently in jail and facing serious charges
Two Lok Sabha candidates who won in the recent national polls are currently behind bars on serious charges.
Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh who won from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib, and Engineer Rashid from Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla are facing serious charges that are being probed by the National Investigation Agency.
Amritpal Singh was arrested after evading the police under the National Security Act (NSA). He has been in jail in Dibrugarh, Assam since March 2023.
While Rashid, who is a former MLA, contested on an Awami Ittehad party ticket and is currently in Delhi’s Tihar jail. He has also been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and is facing serious charges under an alleged terror-funding case.
What happens to these parliamentarians?
Past cases
There have been past instances when jailed lawmakers are granted temporary parole to take oath.
In March, Aam Aadmi party leader Sanjay Singh, who was then imprisoned in Tihar on money laundering charges, was granted permission by a court to take oath as Rajya Sabha MP for a second term.
A trial court directed the jail superintendent to ensure that he is taken to Parliament with adequate security, and brought back to the jail.
In 2021, Akhil Gogoi was allowed to temporarily leave prison to take oath as an Assam legislative assembly member after he won from Sibsagar, Assam. An NIA court gave him the permission.
Also, George Fernandes, who was elected from the Muzaffarpur seat while in jail during the emergency, came in 1977. He was released from prison before the oath ceremony.
Special parole for a day
When these jailed parliamentarians are permitted to leave the jail and take oath, it is the same as getting a special parole for a day.
The jailed lawmaker must write to the Speaker stating that she will not be able to attend the proceedings. This is important since Article 101(4) of the Constitution states that if an MP is absent for over 60 days from all the meetings without permission, her seat will be declared vacant.
To attend a Parliament session or to cast a vote in Parliament, the lawmaker must apply to court for permission. However, only a conviction and a sentence of two or more years will lead to disqualification from Parliament.