‘Let’s not see ghosts’, Delhi HC orally tells NIA in Engineer Rashid’s plea seeking to attend Parliament in custody

Rashid, who defeated Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the Baramulla seat by over 2 lakh votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, has been lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since 2019 in a case of alleged terror funding. Rashid was arrested in 2019 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Rashid’s request comes after a trial court rejected his bail plea last week. The Parliament session started on March 12 and will continue until April 4. (Express Photo/ Shuaib Masoodi)

Written by: Sohini Ghosh

3 min readNew DelhiMar 26, 2025 02:55 AM IST First published on: Mar 25, 2025 at 02:10 PM IST

The Delhi High Court Tuesday reserved its order in a plea by Abdul Rashid Sheikh alias Engineer Rashid, the Independent Lok Sabha MP from Baramulla, seeking to attend the remaining seven days of the Parliament session while in the court’s custody.

Rashid’s request comes after a trial court rejected his bail plea last week. The Parliament session started on March 12 and will continue until April 4.

In February, Rashid was allowed by Delhi HC to attend Parliament during the Budget Session for two days.

A division bench of Justices Chandra Dhari Singh and Anup Bhambhani was hearing the plea where Senior Advocate N Hariharan, representing Rashid, also pointed to the court the earlier judicial discretion was exercised in his favour to allow him to campaign for Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections while granting him interim bail. Hariharan said Rashid did not violate any of the conditions imposed while in custody parole or interim bail, which was also admitted to by the state.

While the National Investigation Agency (NIA) opposed the plea, primarily on the ground that Rashid faces very serious charges of waging war against the state, Jammu and Kashmir also highlighted that if the MP is allowed to attend Parliament in custody, he will remain unguarded once inside the premises. “He is capable of communicating by any means, even by using the internet, because once he enters Parliament gate, we don’t have control.”

Justice Bhambhani, however, orally remarked to the state’s opposition, “I don’t see why there should be opposition to this by any state. This could happen tomorrow to somebody else. There are many parliamentarians facing cases… What happens to his obligations as a parliamentarian if he continues to be in custody for 10 years while being a parliamentarian?… Let’s not see ghosts, let’s not feel so powerless that ‘oh my god inside parliament he will do this and that’.

“At least I speak for myself that I’m not worried he will not obey the law… You tell us if you have any fears or apprehensions, we will include that in the condition. Be confident, don’t come from the point of fear that ‘oh my god he’ll do this he’ll do that’. He is in the confines of the highest temple of democracy. Please don’t undermine the position and power of the Lok Sabha secretariat and secretary general,” Justice Bhambhani added.

The court is expected to pass a detailed order later Tuesday.

Rashid, who defeated Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the Baramulla seat by over 2 lakh votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, has been lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since 2019 in a case of alleged terror funding. Rashid was arrested in 2019 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

According to NIA, he used various public platforms to “propagate the ideology of separatism and secessionism”, was closely associated with various terrorist organisations, and wanted to “legitimise” the United Jihad Council, a platform of anti-India militant groups in Jammu and Kashmir.

Sohini Ghosh

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Prev... Read More

# Engineer Abdul Rashid