The
Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea against the election of jailed radical
Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh as an MP from Punjab's Khadoor Sahib.
The
petitioner claimed before a bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan
that Article 84 of the Constitution deals with qualification for membership of
Parliament and says that a person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a
seat in Parliament unless he is a citizen of India.
"In this case, respondent number four (Amritpal
Singh) had said that he does not owe allegiance to the Constitution of
India," the petitioner, who appeared in-person, said.
"You
file an election petition," the bench said.
The
petitioner said he was not a voter of Khadoor Sahib constituency but was
"deeply hurt" by the statements given earlier by Singh.
"It
is a matter of evidence. There are procedures prescribed. There are provisions
in the Representation of the People Act," the bench observed.
"Thank
you. Dismissed," the bench said while refusing to entertain the petition.
On
July 5, Singh, was granted parole to take oath as members of the Lok Sabha.
Singh,
who heads the 'Waris Punjab De' outfit, is lodged in a prison in Assam's
Dibrugarh district for alleged offences under the National Security Act.
Singh, 31, won the Lok
Sabha elections from Khadoor Sahib as an independent candidate while being
incarcerated.