Amritpal Singh wins Khadoor Sahib from jail

Who: Amritpal Singh, head of Waris Punjab De, held in Dibrugarh jail in Assam under the National Security Act since his arrest in Moga on April 23, 2023, and standing as an independent.

What: On June 4, 2024, he won Khadoor Sahib with 4,04,430 votes (38.62 percent). Congress's Kulbir Singh Zira had 2,07,310, AAP's Laljit Singh Bhullar 1,94,836 and the SAD's Virsa Singh Valtoha 86,416. The margin was 1,97,120 votes. The same day another independent, Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, won Faridkot; ThePrint notes he is the son of Beant Singh, one of Indira Gandhi's assassins. Punjab sent seven Congress MPs, three from AAP, one from the SAD, none from the BJP and these two independents.

The Amritsar district magistrate ordered his temporary release under Section 15 of the NSA on July 3, from July 5 for up to four days, restricted to New Delhi, escorted, and barred from statements prejudicial to national security. He took his oath on July 5. The Lok Sabha later told the High Court he was absent for 46 days from June 24 to December 12, 2024, and that the House had granted him 54 days of leave of absence. On March 12, 2025, the High Court refused his plea to attend Parliament. The state refused temporary release for the Budget Session on February 2, 2026, and the High Court dismissed his challenge in March 2026, saying a detained MP has no higher right than an ordinary citizen. His counsel called the detention politically motivated and raised the 60-day rule of Article 101; the state cited a threat to the security of the state.

Where: Khadoor Sahib, one of Punjab's 13 Lok Sabha seats, and Dibrugarh jail, in Assam.

Why it mattered: Voters chose a jailed candidate with nearly double the runner-up's votes, and the state and the courts then declined to release him to take his seat beyond the days allowed for the oath. His NSA detention was due to end on April 22, 2026. The state told the High Court it would not extend it but would arrest him in the Ajnala case and keep him at Dibrugarh, and by August ThePrint described him as held under UAPA and IPC provisions.