Delhi High Court Allows MP Engineer Rashid To Attend Parliament 'In-Custody', Can't Use Phone Or Interact With Media

The Delhi High Court has allowed jailed Jammu and Kashmir MP Engineer Rashid to attend the second part of the Parliamentary session from March 26 to April 04 “in-custody”.A division bench comprising Justice Chandra Dhari Singh and Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani directed the Director General (Prisons) to send him “in-custody” under police escort from prison to the Parliament on each of the dates during the hours in which the Lok Sabha is in session, between March 26 to April 04.“At the Parliament House, the appellant shall be handed-over to the custody of Parliament security/marshals, who shall allow the appellant to attend the proceedings of the Lok Sabha and to avail other facilities and amenities within the Parliament House during the hours that the Lok Sabha is in session; and shall thereafter hand-back custody of the appellant to the prison escort, who will bring him back to prison straight from the Parliament House, on the same day, without any delay,” the Court said.It added that while out to attend the Parliament Session, Rashid will not be entitled to use phone or internet or will not engage or address the media. “The appellant shall not interact with any other person, at any time while he is outside the premises of jail, except within the premises of Lok Sabha House and in relation to performance of his role as a Member of Parliament as per the requisite discipline permitted by the Lok Sabha Rules,” the Court said.It directed that upon conclusion of the proceedings of the Lok Sabha on each day, Rashid shall be brought back and admitted to prison even if it happens to be beyond official hours as per jail rules. The expense for the travel and other arrangements is to be borne by Rashid. Yesterday, the Court had hinted at granting permission to Rashid after his counsel, Senior Advocate N Hariharan, submitted that he was not pressing for release on interim bail or custody parole and was only seeking permission to attend the Parliament while in custody. In its detailed order, the Court observed that it is a settled position of law that undertrials are eligible to contest Parliamentary Elections notwithstanding that they may be charged with heinous offences. It added that having been duly elected, Rashid was administered oath of office, despite the fact that he is an undertrial facing serious charges. “As a Member of Parliament, the appellant owes to the people of his constituency the duty and responsibility to represent them in Parliament,” the Court said. It added: “This court is confident, that subject to the conditions that the court proposes to impose by this order, the State machinery would be able to ensure the integrity of the appellant's custody, so that he remains available to face trial.”The Bench requested the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha to ensure compliance of the conditions by taking requisite steps as may be required, as per Parliament rules, to ensure that Rashid's judicial custody is not compromised.“It is clarified that this order is not intended to constitute a precedent; and any subsequent prayer seeking similar relief on similar grounds would be considered on its own merits, in accordance with law,” the Court said. Rashid had challenged an order passed by special NIA court denying him custody parole on March 10. In the trial court, he sought the relief on the ground that being he needed to attend the session to fulfil his public duty being a parliamentarian.In February, a single judge of the High Court had granted Rashid custody parole for two days in order to enable him to attend the parliament.Later, the Court had asked the Special NIA Court to decide Rashid's bail plea expeditiously. Subsequently, the trial court has now listed order on his regular bail plea on March 19 while denying him custody parole. 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.Rashid has been in jail since 2019 after he was charged by NIA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in alleged terror funding case.Counsel for Appeallant: Mr. N. Hariharan, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Vikhyat Oberoi, Ms. Nishita Gupta, Mr. Shivam Prakash, Mr. Ravi Sharma, Ms. Jagriti Pandey, Ms.Punya Rekha Angara, Ms. Vasundhara, Ms. Sana Singh, Mr. Aman Akhtar, Mr. Vinayak Gautam and Mr. Hosnaih Khwaja, AdvocatesCounsel for Respondent: Mr. Rajkumar Bhaskar Thakare, ASG with Mr. Akshai Malik, SPP and Mr. Khawar Saleem & Mr Akash Kavade, Advocates for NIATitle: Abdul Rashid Sheikh v. NIACitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 364Click here to read order

Delhi High Court Allows MP Engineer Rashid To Attend Parliament 'In-Custody', Can't Use Phone Or Interact With Media

Nupur Thapliyal

Tags