Guwahati: The Punjab government informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday that the nomination filing process of radical Sikh preacher and NSA detainee Amritpal Singh for the June 1 Lok Sabha elections is being facilitated at Dibrugarh jail in Assam.
As per a report by the Hindustan Times, Punjab Deputy Advocate General Arjun Sheoran told the high court bench of Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj that the documentation process is complete after Singh’s lawyers and proposer met him in Dibrugarh jail on May 9. They can submit nomination papers to the Khadoor Sahib seat returning officer, Sheoran informed the court.
These submissions were made during the hearing of a plea filed by Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh, seeking to prevent any hurdle in the filing of his nomination papers as an Independent candidate. He had also demanded temporary release from jail to file nomination papers.
Singh, along with nine others from his outfit, has been behind bars since April last year. They were detained following a crackdown on the Waris Punjab De outfit by the Centre and Punjab on March 18, 2023.
Booked under the National Security Act (NSA), Amritpal Singh was arrested on April 23, 2023, in a Moga village after almost a month-long chase since his escape on March 18, 2023. Last month, the Punjab government re-invoked NSA against all of them.
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As per Sheoran, once documents are submitted, the superintendent of Central Jail, Dibrugarh, will administer the oath according to the provisions of law, and the certificate of oath would be submitted to the returning officer. The oath is administered once nominations are filed, Sheoran informed the court.
The high court has disposed of the plea in view of the submissions. However, a detailed order is awaited.
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