Jailed MPs can come to Parliament with permission of courts.
Jailed MPs Amritpal Singh and Engineer Abdul Rashid, who have recently won the Lok Sabha elections, can attend Parliament sessions with court permission, according to Constitution expert and former Secretary General of the Lok Sabha, PDT Achary. Both MPs are currently in jail on serious charges: Singh under the National Security Act in Dibrugarh jail, Assam, and Rashid in Tihar jail on terror financing charges since August 2019.
Achary explained that jailed MPs are required to take an oath of office, and with the court’s permission, they can be temporarily released to do so. The police will escort them to Parliament, where they will be handed over to Parliament security for the oath-taking ceremony before being returned to jail.
In addition to the oath-taking, jailed MPs can also participate in important parliamentary votes and sessions with special court permission. The same process of police escort and temporary handover to Parliament security will apply each time they need to attend.
While these MPs can perform some parliamentary duties, Achary noted that their ability to serve their constituents effectively is significantly hampered by their incarceration. Nonetheless, voters have elected them despite being aware of their legal situations.
Amritpal Singh, a radical Sikh preacher, won the Khadoor Sahib constituency by a significant margin of 1,97,120 votes against his closest competitor, Kulbir Singh Zira of the Congress party. Singh’s victory comes despite his arrest by Punjab police in April last year.
Engineer Abdul Rashid, who ran as an independent candidate, secured the Baramulla seat by defeating Omar Abdullah, vice-president of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC). Rashid won with a margin of 2,04,142 votes, amassing a total of 4,72,481 votes.
The Election Commission’s announcement confirmed these victories on Tuesday, highlighting the strong support both candidates received from their constituencies. Despite their current legal battles, Singh and Rashid will have the opportunity to take their oaths and participate in parliamentary duties as elected representatives.
