Prisoners-Elect: Amritpal Singh and Engineer Rashid’s Parliamentary Oaths

Challenges and Legalities Surrounding their Participation in Parliament

Attention India
4 Min Read

Amritpal Singh and Engineer Rashid, both imprisoned, have won elections. Now, they face the challenge of taking oath and participating in parliamentary proceedings. Amritpal Singh secured seat from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib seat, while Rashid won from Kashmir’s Baramulla seat. The question now arises as to how these two will take oath as Members of Parliament, considering they are imprisoned in separate cases.

The Lok Sabha election results have brought surprising outcomes, particularly with Amritpal Singh winning as an independent candidate from Khadoor Sahib, Punjab. Meanwhile, Engineer Rashid, another independent candidate, secured seat from Baramulla seat in Jammu and Kashmir. Notably, both are currently imprisoned in separate cases.

Engineer Rashid is under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and is currently in Tihar Jail, Delhi. He was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2019 for alleged terror funding. On the other hand, Amritpal Singh has been detained under the National Security Act (NSA) and is currently in Dehradun Jail, Assam.

Now, the question remains whether they can participate in the oath-taking ceremony after winning the elections. According to the Representation of the People Act, any person above 18 years of age and mentally sound is eligible to contest elections, even if they are facing criminal charges, provided they have not been proven guilty.

How will they participate in the oath ceremony?

Amritpal and Rashid have won elections, but how will they participate in the oath-taking ceremony? This is crucial to understand. Elected representatives imprisoned in jail are usually granted parole to take oath.

Legal experts specializing in constitutional matters, explain that parliamentary law clearly states that taking oath as a Member of Parliament is a constitutional right of any elected member.

They further explain that the jail administration will be informed by the Parliament Secretary Office about certain members being in jail and that they need to take the oath on a particular day and that they should be given the necessary permission.

Will they participate in Parliament proceedings?

According to legal experts specializing in constitutional matters, if a member remains absent from the House for two months without the permission or information of the Speaker, or is found guilty, their membership is cancelled.

If Rashid comes to take the oath, then after taking the oath, he informs the Speaker in writing that he cannot participate in the House, will remain absent, and he should be allowed to do so.

Can they run the government from jail?

The third question is whether MPs or MLAs can run the government from jail. The manuals of the jails in the states of the country are different. In such a case, public representatives cannot function at the ground level. However, they can participate in online meetings and make decisions through senior family members or league teams.

Share This Article