New Delhi, August 6(HS): Engineer Rashid, accused of terror funding, informed the High Court that he cannot represent his Lok Sabha constituency in Parliament due to a hefty security payment demanded by the NIA for his custody parole. The bench, led by Justice Vivek Chaudhary, scheduled the next hearing for August 12.

Rashid's advocate, N. Hariharan, sought to amend a court order requiring four lakh rupees for security arrangements to permit participation in the parliamentary session. The court observed that typically, custodial security costs fall on the applicant. Hariharan argued that requiring this payment from an elected official is unjust and undermines democratic principles if it prevents Rashid from attending Parliament.

The court had previously issued a notice to the NIA on July 25, and during proceedings, Hariharan noted that the Patiala House Court had demanded 17 lakh rupees for security for the parliamentary session from July 29 to August 4, which he deemed punitive for a public representative.

Rashid had earlier been granted permission for custody parole to attend the parliamentary session starting July 21 but was unable due to the financial demands.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar