The Delhi High Court has scheduled the hearing of jailed MP Engineer Rashid’s bail plea for February 24 after the Supreme Court clarified that the NIA court could decide on the matter. Rashid, arrested in a 2017 terror funding case, remains lodged in Tihar Jail
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The Delhi High Court on Tuesday scheduled the hearing of jailed MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh’s bail plea for February 24 in connection with a terror funding case. Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, had approached the high court, citing the lack of a designated forum to decide on his bail application.
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Justice Vikas Mahajan deferred the matter after being informed by the counsel representing the high court administration that the Supreme Court had clarified on Monday that the NIA court handling the case could proceed with hearing the bail plea.
Rashid, who was elected as the Member of Parliament from the Baramulla constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, has been incarcerated in Tihar Jail since 2019 following his arrest by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a 2017 terror funding case. He stands accused of financing separatist groups and terror organisations in Jammu and Kashmir.
As per PTI, Rashid had earlier moved the high court after the NIA court, which was dealing with his bail application, stalled proceedings following his election to the Lok Sabha, as it was not a designated special MP/MLA court. This legal ambiguity left him in a state of limbo regarding his bail application.
On Monday, the Supreme Court addressed the matter and clarified that the NIA court could hear Rashid’s bail plea. In light of this clarification, Justice Mahajan orally advised Rashid’s legal counsel to approach the NIA court for bail. However, Rashid’s lawyer requested the court to adjourn the hearing for a week, which was subsequently granted.
As an interim measure, Rashid was granted a two-day custody parole to attend the ongoing Parliament session on February 11 and 13. The development allows him to participate in legislative proceedings despite his ongoing legal battle.
PTI reports that the Delhi High Court has also directed the counsel representing the high court administration to place on record the office order to be issued by the authorities concerning the designation of the court to hear Rashid’s case, in light of the Supreme Court’s clarification.
The issue of jurisdiction arose due to a 2016 Supreme Court judgment that mandated special MP/MLA courts to exclusively handle cases involving lawmakers. However, since Rashid’s bail plea was pending before an NIA court rather than a designated MP/MLA court, the matter required legal clarification.
In his plea, Rashid had urged the high court to either direct the NIA court to expedite the disposal of his pending bail application or to adjudicate the matter itself.
On December 24 last year, Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh had initially dismissed Rashid’s plea seeking an order on his pending bail application in the NIA case. The judge had referred the matter to the district judge, requesting its transfer to a court specifically designated to try cases involving lawmakers. However, when the district judge sent the case back to him, the trial judge ruled that he could only decide on miscellaneous applications and not on the bail plea itself.
(With inputs from PTI)
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