A petition has been filed in the Punjab & Haryana High Court challenging the election of Amritpal Singh, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib constituency. Singh is currently detained under the National Security Act (NSA).
Since his arrest in April 2023, Amritpal Singh has been held in Dibrugarh Jail. He won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Khadoor Sahib constituency as an Independent candidate. Singh is the head of the alleged “pro-Khalistani” outfit Waris Punjab De and is also an accused in various FIRs, including the Ajnala Police Station attack incident.
An independent candidate from the same constituency, Vikramjeet Singh filed the petition in June challenging Amritpal’s election. The petition alleges that Amritpal used “his religious identity to seek votes in the name of religion, which is illegal and amounts to corrupt practices.”
The plea asserts that, while Amritpal is in jail, his family and team visited various religious sites, Gurudwaras, and Hindu religious Nagar Kirtans, and also released his manifesto from a Gurudwara. “Meetings were held in various Gurudwaras to garner support, and slogans were raised in his favor. Thus, the respondent has not only failed to maintain the sanctity of religious places but has also violated the provisions of the Representation of People Act by seeking votes in these places. Consequently, his election is liable to be set aside on this basis alone,” the plea states.
The election is also challenged on additional grounds, including the promotion of material on social media without obtaining the necessary sanctions from the competent authority, violating the Model Code of Conduct, and failing to file complete nomination papers.
