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 the 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.
Singh, 31, won the Lok Sabha elections from Khadoor Sahib as an independent candidate while being incarcerated. On July 5, Singh was granted parole to take oath as a member 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.
