New Delhi, March 25 (H.S.): The Delhi High Court has reserved its decision on the interim bail plea of MP Engineer Rashid, who is currently imprisoned in Tihar Jail in a terror funding case, to participate in the parliamentary session. Justice Pratibha Singh's bench reserved the decision after hearing arguments from both sides.

In this case, the NIA opposed Engineer Rashid's interim bail application, stating that being an MP, he could not be granted permission to come out of jail. The High Court had issued a notice to the NIA on Engineer Rashid's petition on March 12. Senior advocate N. Hariharan, representing Engineer Rashid, stated that Engineer Rashid had previously sought permission to participate in the parliamentary session, but the court had only allowed participation for two days. Hariharan mentioned that the parliamentary session would continue until April 4. Engineer Rashid is an MP from Baramulla, and the population of Baramulla constitutes 45 percent of the total population of Jammu and Kashmir. Such a large representation cannot be left unfilled. He demanded that Engineer Rashid be released on custody parole.

During the hearings, Akshay Malik, the lawyer representing the NIA, stated that the previous custody parole granted by the High Court was during a time when there was no designated court for the hearing of this case. Now, a special court has been designated for this case. The trial court has reserved its decision on Engineer Rashid's regular bail, which is expected to be announced on March 19. The petition mentioned that the second phase of the Parliament's budget session started on March 10 and would conclude on April 4. Rashid had won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by defeating former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah by nearly one lakh votes. Rashid was arrested by the NIA in 2016.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar