Delhi HC Asks NIA Stand Over Custody Parole To Jailed MP Engineer Rashid

Delhi HC sought the stand of the NIA on allowing jailed MP Engineer Rashid to attend the ongoing Parliament session on custody parole.

New Delhi:The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the stand of the NIA on allowing jailed MP Engineer Rashid, facing trial in a terror funding case, to attend the ongoing Parliament session on custody parole. "He can, in the meantime, attend the session in judicial custody. He is an elected MP. What is the difficulty in sending him in custody?" asked Justice Vikas Mahajan.

The court granted time till February 7 to the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) counsel to seek instructions on the issue. The NIA counsel said the matter was "not that simple" as there was an issue of security as well. Custody parole entails a prisoner being escorted by armed police personnel to the place of visit.

The court was hearing Rashid's petition alleging he was left without any remedy after the NIA court dealing with his bail application left him in a limbo post his election to the Lok Sabha last year as it wasn't a special MP/MLA court. During the hearing, the counsel appearing for the high court administration said an application was filed in the Supreme Court for a clarification and it would be mentioned on February 7 for listing.

According to the top court's website the matter would come up on February 10 or 11, he added. Senior advocate N Hariharan, appearing for Rashid, submitted the first leg of the Parliament session was ending on February 13 and his client ought to be permitted to represent his constituency.

He urged court to grant him custody parole and said, "He (Rashid) can be handed over to the parliamentary marshalls." During the hearing, the court questioned the senior counsel on its jurisdiction to decide to a plea for bail, observing such an issue had to be looked into by a division bench in appeal.

The NIA opposed Rashid's plea seeking interim bail to attend the ongoing Parliament session and said he had no such "right" as a parliamentarian. NIA also opposed grant of bail to Rashid in the case and asserted that his plea was not maintainable.

Rashid was elected from the Baramulla constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and has been lodged in Tihar Jail since 2019 after the NIA arrested him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the 2017 terror-funding case.

In his petition, Rashid sought the high court to either direct the expeditious disposal of his pending bail plea by the NIA court or decide the matter itself. He also prayed for an interim bail to attend the budget session of Parliament, which began on January 31 and concludes on April 4.

As an alternative, Rashid sought custody parole during the budget session. On December 24 last year, the NIA court requested the district judge to transfer the case to a court designated to try lawmakers while dismissing his plea for an order on the pending bail application in the case.

With the matter sent back to him by the district judge, the trial judge said in his decision that he could only decide the miscellaneous application and not the bail plea.