Context: Amritpal Singh, a MP from Punjab, has approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court to seek permission to attend the ongoing Parliamentary session to avoid losing his membership due to prolonged absence.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Questions based on provisions for disqualification of members.
Background:
- MP Amritpal Singh faces charges under the National Security Act, and has been detained in Dibrugarh since April 2023.
- He contested and won the 2024 Lok Sabha election from prison, but thus far has an attendance of only 2%.
- Under Article 101(4), he fears losing his membership due to his prolonged absence from Parliament.
Provisions of Article 101
- Article 101 mentions the provisions about the vacation of the seats of members of Parliament.
- No dual membership:
- Article 101(1): No person shall be a member of both Houses of Parliament simultaneously.
- Article 101(2): No person can become a member of both the Parliament and a state legislature at the same time. The seat of parliament becomes vacant if the member is not able to resign from the State Legislature within 14 days.
- Article 101(3): The members of either House of Parliament may resign from office by writing a letter in his own handwriting to the Chairman or Speaker (as applicable). If the letter is accepted by the Chairman or Speaker, the seat becomes empty.
- Prolonged absence- Article 101(4):
- If a member of either House of Parliament is absent from all meetings, without permission of the House for a period of sixty days, the House may declare his seat vacant.
- The 60 days, however, do not account for any period during which the House is prorogued or is adjourned for more than four consecutive days.
- MPs can seek leave: For long absences, MPs can write to the ‘Committee on Absence of Members from the Sittings of the House’ (parliamentary panel that deals with this issue). The committee makes recommendations on each leave application, which are then ratified by the House concerned.
- Even if an MP is absent for more than 60 days, the House has to declare the seat vacant by putting the matter to vote.
- Note: No vacancy has been made till date by invoking Article 101(4).