Amritsar: In a significant legal development at the Amritsar Sessions Court, the legal team representing Khadoor Sahib Member of Parliament Amritpal Singh has formally moved a discharge application, seeking to have all charges against him dismissed. During the proceedings on Friday, advocate Ritu Raj Singh Sandhu argued that the allegations levelled against the MP are entirely baseless and lack the necessary evidentiary support to proceed to a full trial. The defence maintained that after a thorough examination of the police reports and the supplementary charge sheets, it is evident that the legal provisions invoked do not align with the factual circumstances of the case, which primarily stems from the 2023 Ajnala police station incident.
The court has acknowledged the defence’s submission and has granted the state time to file a formal reply to the discharge plea. The prosecution is expected to present its counter-arguments on May 11, a date that will likely determine whether the case moves toward framing charges or is dismissed at this preliminary stage. Amritpal Singh, who is currently held at the Dibrugarh Central Jail, attended the hearing via video conferencing, a practice that has become standard for his ongoing legal matters. His counsel confirmed that the MP’s status remains unchanged, and he continues to be held in the same facility where he has been lodged since his arrest in April 2023.
This legal maneuver comes just weeks after the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed a separate petition challenging the MP’s preventive detention under the National Security Act, describing the state’s satisfied requirements for detention as legally sound. However, the current discharge plea focuses specifically on the criminal charges related to the Ajnala case, where the defence argues that no new or incriminating material has surfaced during the prolonged investigation. As the legal battle intensifies, the outcome of the May 11 hearing is being closely watched as it will have a profound impact on the political and legal standing of the Khadoor Sahib representative.
