Amritsar, Nov 13 (PTI) Khadoor Sahib MP and Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh, currently lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh Central Jail, has been granted custody parole for a certain time period on Saturday by a court here to attend the last rites of his grandmother.
Amritpal Singh's grandmother, Charan Kaur (84), died on Sunday following a prolonged illness after which the MP's family moved a court in Amritsar, seeking his temporary release.
The mortal remains of Kaur have been kept at the family's native village, Jallupur Khera in Amritsar.
The family had sought four days of parole, from November 14 to November 17. However, on Friday, the court granted custody parole for a certain period on Saturday.
After Kaur's death, the family had postponed her last rites, saying it will wait for Amritpal Singh to attend the cremation.
In his order, Special Court judge Mahesh Kumar Sharma observed, "The State has contested the application for interim bail of the accused on the ground of the law-and-order situation, security and maintenance of public order, and prayed that in the event of grant of permission to the applicant for a custodial visit to his native village Jallupur Khera, appropriate conditions may kindly be imposed upon him."
"The court is of the considered opinion that the grandmother of the applicant has expired and the wish of the applicant to attend the two last ceremony/collection of asthiyaan (mortal remains) and the bhog ceremony is quite natural and genuine, but taking into account the law-and-order situation of the state, security of the state and maintenance of public order of the state, the applicant is granted the permission to join the cremation ceremony of his grandmother Charan Kaur on 14.11.2026 in police custody with high security for three hours only upon the cost borne by him.
"It is made clear that since the permission has been granted upon humanitarian grounds, permitting the applicant to participate in the last rites of his grandmother, as such, it shall be subject to following conditions," the order read.
Amritpal Singh will not visit anywhere else except his house at Jalllupur Khera. He will not contact any prosecution witnesses connected with the criminal cases pending against him, nor will he address the media or a public gathering. He will not meet or speak or communicate with any public person except his family members, the order said.
Among other conditions, he shall strictly abide by the instructions issued by administrative authorities or police in case of any breach of peace or if any other situation arises.
The entire expenses towards the transportation to the village and back to the jail, along with the police escort, shall be borne by him.
"The respondent State is directed to ensure the participation of applicant Amritpal Singh in the cremation of his grandmother on 14.11.2026 for three hours at the cost borne by him. The concerned jail authorities are directed to make necessary arrangements for taking the applicant to village Jallupur Khera, Tehsil Baba Bakala Sahib, District Amritsar on 14.11.2026 at 12 noon to 3 pm, in custody so that he may attend the cremation ceremony of his grandmother Charan Kaur and would take him back in the jail immediately after 3 pm...," the order read.
However, Amritpal Singh's father, Tarsem Singh, told reporters that the family does not have any plans for the cremation on Saturday.
He said the time is very short for Amritpal Singh to reach here from Dibrugarh.
The MP's arrival here depends on how soon all formalities for his temporary release are completed, his lawyer Karamvir Singh told reporters earlier in the day.
In the evening, another of his lawyers, Harjot Singh Mann, said they had moved a modified application on Friday, stating that it would not be practically possible for the MP to reach Amritsar by Saturday morning. Besides, the family is now contemplating performing the last rites on November 17.
However, Mann said the application could not be taken up by the court on Friday and they will request for a hearing on Saturday.
The district court had earlier allowed the jailed leader to interact with his grandmother through a 10-minute video call from the Dibrugarh jail.
However, the video call was not facilitated since his grandmother was critical, the lawyers said.
Amritpal Singh was arrested in a 2023 Ajnala police station attack case on April 23, after his detention under the National Security Act (NSA) ended on April 22.
He was arrested from Moga's Rode village on April 23, 2023, following a manhunt of more than a month and later, detained under the NSA.
The Punjab Police had launched a crackdown after the February 23, 2023, Ajnala incident, in which Singh and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, allegedly broke through barricades, barged into a police station on the outskirts of Amritsar city and clashed with police for the release of his aides.
Amritpal Singh had fought the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Khadoor Sahib as an independent candidate and won the seat.
He took oath as a member of the Lok Sabha on July 5, 2024, after being granted parole. At that time, he was brought to the Parliament complex by security personnel. He was granted a four-day custody parole, beginning July 5, in view of the travel from Assam to Delhi and back.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)