Delhi HC grants two-day custody parole to Engineer Rashid

The Delhi High Court granted two-day custody parole to Jammu and Kashmir MP and leader of Awami Iteha Party (AIP), Engineer Rashid, on Monday. The Court had reserved its verdict during the last hearing after the National Investigation Agency argued against the parole. 

The AIP leader was arrested by the NIA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in 2019 on charges of terror funding. Last year, Rashid was granted temporary bail to campaign for his party. However, the AIP failed to impress and won only one of the many seats it contested. The lone seat was won by Sheikh Khursheed, Rashid’s brother; he was declared the winner from Langate, an AIP stronghold. 

After the elections, Rashid returned to Tihar jail. He recently sought parole to attend the Parliamentary budget session. 

Rashid’s would be on parole from February 11-13. However, he has been barred from using a mobile phone or accessing the internet. "The petitioner shall not interact with anyone beyond his limited role of attending Parliament. He is also prohibited from making any statements to the media," the court ruled.

The decision on Rashid’s parole was reserved last week after the court heard arguments from the lawyers representing Rashid and the NIA. Rashid’s primary petition regarding his regular bail plea will come up for hearing on Tuesday.

He has requested the High Court to direct the trial court to expedite its decision on his pending bail application. Alternatively, he has urged the High Court to consider his writ petition as a second regular bail application. Rashid was on hunger strike for over a week demanding bail. He was admitted to hospital after his condition worsened.

Rashid’s party has argued that he needs to attend Parliament to represent the people of Baramulla who elected him by a huge margin. The firebrand MP from Kashmir contested the Lok Sabha polls from jail, defeating heavyweights like Omar Abdullah and Sajad Lone of People’s Conference.