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Chandigarh: After missing Parliament’s Winter Session, detained Member of Parliament Amritpal Singh has approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking permission to attend the forthcoming Budget Session of Parliament of India. The petition is expected to be taken up for hearing by a Division Bench on Thursday.

Amritpal Singh had earlier been unable to attend the Winter Session after his previous plea—seeking permission to participate in parliamentary proceedings through virtual mode—became infructuous. Despite the court effectively hearing the matter on a near day-to-day basis, no final adjudication could be reached before the conclusion of the session.

In its earlier observations, the Bench had noted that the petitioner would be at liberty to approach the court again upon the emergence of a fresh cause of action, implicitly indicating that the issue could be raised afresh during a subsequent parliamentary session.

In a detailed order passed earlier, the Bench recorded that effective hearings could not take place on December 15, 16 and 17, 2025, owing to abstention from work by members of the Bar. The court also took on record submissions by counsel for the petitioner that the Winter Session of Parliament was scheduled to conclude on December 18, 2025.

Since arguments on behalf of the respondent-States remained incomplete on December 15 and only one sitting of the session remained, the Bench held that the matter had “virtually become infructuous,” leaving no practical relief that could be granted at that stage.

Amritpal Singh—who has been detained under the National Security Act since April 2023 and is currently lodged at Dibrugarh Central Jail—had appeared before the High Court via videoconferencing on December 16, 2025, in view of the lawyers’ strike.

The Khadoor Sahib MP Khadoor Sahib had submitted before the court that his prolonged detention had brought parliamentary work in his constituency to a standstill. He contended that his incarceration under the NSA had effectively prevented him from raising critical public issues—such as floods, the drug menace, and allegations of fake encounters—on the floor of Parliament.

“The issue is not about me alone. It concerns the electorate I represent. Their parliamentary voice is not being heard,” Amritpal Singh had told the court, stressing that continued absence from Parliament amounted to the silencing of his constituents.

With the Budget Session now approaching, the High Court is expected to examine afresh whether a detained MP can be permitted—physically or otherwise—to discharge his constitutional and parliamentary duties, a question that carries wider implications for representative democracy and preventive detention laws.