AMRITSAR — A special court in Amritsar granted jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh a tightly restricted three-hour custody parole to attend the cremation of his grandmother at his native village in Punjab.
He cannot hold rallies. He cannot speak to reporters. He must pay for his own police escort.
Special Court Judge Mahesh Kumar Sharma cleared the temporary custodial release strictly on humanitarian grounds, overruling objections from state prosecutors who warned that the visit could disrupt public order across the border district.
Charan Kaur, 84, died on Sunday following a protracted illness. Her mortal remains remain preserved at the family’s ancestral home in Jallupur Khera, nestled in Amritsar’s Baba Bakala Sahib tehsil. The family had initially petitioned the judiciary for four days of interim relief, spanning November 14 to November 17. The court slashed that request to a single three-hour window.
State prosecutors vigorously contested the interim bail plea, arguing that releasing the Waris Punjab De chief posed grave security threats.
Judge Sharma balanced family bereavement against state security, mandating that Punjab Police enforce strict surveillance throughout the transfer. Under the order, jail authorities must transport Amritpal Singh from Assam’s Dibrugarh Central Jail directly to Jallupur Khera between 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM, before returning him to judicial confinement immediately after the three-hour period expires.
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.
Mahesh Kumar Sharma, Special Court Judge
The court imposed an ironclad perimeter around the visit. Singh cannot step outside his residential premises in Jallupur Khera. He cannot approach prosecution witnesses tied to his pending criminal indictments. The bench barred him from addressing public gatherings, holding press briefings, or interacting with anyone outside his immediate domestic circle. Singh must also bear the entire financial freight for the transit operation, including special aircraft or overland conveyance and the deployment of armed escort personnel.
| Case Parameter | Official Status |
|---|---|
| Applicant | Amritpal Singh (MP, Khadoor Sahib; Waris Punjab De Chief) |
| Confinement Facility | Dibrugarh Central Jail, Dibrugarh, Assam |
| Relief Granted | Three-Hour Custody Parole (12:00 PM to 3:00 PM) |
| Permitted Location | Ancestral home, Jallupur Khera, Baba Bakala Sahib, Amritsar |
| Security & Transit Costs | To be borne entirely by the applicant |
| Judicial Constraints | Complete ban on media, public addresses, and non-family contact |
Yet the transfer hit immediate logistical walls.
Amritpal Singh’s father, Tarsem Singh, confirmed that the family abandoned plans for a Saturday cremation because the transit window proved physically impossible. Dibrugarh sits more than 2,500 kilometers east of Amritsar. Ferrying a high-security detainee across state jurisdictions requires intricate inter-state clearances, chartered aviation arrangements, and synchronized police deployments.
Defense counsel Karamvir Singh stated that Singh's arrival hinged entirely on how rapidly administrative authorities processed release papers. By Friday evening, defense advocate Harjot Singh Mann filed a modified application before the Amritsar court, arguing that landing the MP in Punjab by Saturday morning remained unworkable.
The family now plans to conduct the final rites on November 17.
Earlier efforts to arrange a final interaction had also collapsed. The district court had previously authorized a 10-minute video link between Dibrugarh Central Jail and Punjab so Singh could speak with his ailing grandmother. That call never took place because Kaur’s medical condition turned critical before technicians could establish the line.
Amritpal Singh has remained behind bars since his arrest in Moga district's Rode village on April 23, 2023, following an intense 37-day nationwide manhunt.
The police dragnet began after the violent storming of the Ajnala police station on February 23, 2023. During that clash, Singh led hundreds of armed supporters—some wielding swords and firearms—through barricades on the outskirts of Amritsar to force the release of an arrested aide, leaving multiple police officers injured. Authorities subsequently slapped Singh with preventive detention warrants under the National Security Act and flew him to Dibrugarh.
His detention under the National Security Act formally expired on April 22, 2024, after which Punjab Police arrested him directly under the substantive charges stemming from the Ajnala assault.
He campaigned from behind bars.
Running as an independent candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Singh won the Khadoor Sahib parliamentary seat by an overwhelming margin of nearly 200,000 votes. Despite his electoral triumph, judicial benches have repeatedly rejected general bail petitions, keeping him confined thousands of miles away from his parliamentary constituency.
The Amritsar Special Court will take up the defense team's modified parole schedule during a special hearing on Saturday to rule on the proposed November 17 timeline.
| Originating Case | 2023 Ajnala Police Station Attack; National Security Act detentions |