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Delhi High Court grants interim bail to MP Engineer Rashid following father’s death
The Delhi High Court has granted bail to Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid under stringent conditions following the death of his father early on May 18 at AIIMS, New Delhi.
Engineer Rashid, who was elected to the Baramulla constituency in 2024, defeated National Conference leader Omar Abdullah by over 2 lakh votes. (File Photo)
Delhi High Court news: The Delhi High Court on Monday granted interim bail to Member of Parliament (MP) from Baramulla, Abdul Rashid Sheikh, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, until June 2, 2026.
Dealing with the application seeking interim bail, a bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Madhu Jain noted that the urgent request was made following the demise of his father and sought to allow him to perform funeral rites and other customary ceremonies.
Rashid’s father died in the early hours of May 18 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.
Justices Prathiba M Singh and Madhu Jain were dealing with an urgent application of Engineer Rashid.
Bail conditions
- While granting bail, the Delhi High Court imposed certain conditions to ensure that the appellant remains under surveillance.
- During the interim bail period, the appellant shall always be accompanied by at least two police officials in plain clothes.
- The said police officials shall accompany him from the beginning of the journey from the concerned jail till the time he returns from Srinagar, the Delhi High Court directed.
- The jail superintendent is at liberty to nominate the police officials who shall accompany the appellant.
- The appellant shall be permitted to visit the burial ground or any other place of worship linked to customary rights.
- Apart from the said venues, the appellant shall not be permitted to move anywhere else.
- During the period of interim bail, while the appellant is permitted to reside at his residences at Srinagar or Langate, any meeting sought to be held with persons other than his immediate family members shall take place only in the presence of two police officials, the Delhi High Court instructed.
Urgent petition by MP
The application on behalf of Engineer Rashid was moved before the Delhi High Court by advocates Vikhyat Oberoi, Nishita Gupta, Ravi Sharma and Shivam Prakash under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), seeking urgent relief to allow the appellant to perform funeral rites and participate in customary ceremonies.
Rashid, who was elected to the Baramulla constituency in 2024, defeated National Conference leader Omar Abdullah by over 2 lakh votes. Later that year, Abdullah was appointed the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
Rashid has been lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since 2019 in a case of alleged terror funding. He was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). He had initially moved for regular bail before the trial court, which was rejected vide order dated March 21, 2025. In April, he was granted a week’s interim bail to visit his ailing father.
According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Rashid 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.
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On May 30, 2017, the NIA registered a case under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under various sections of the UAPA against Lashkar-e-Toiba founder Hafiz Saeed and other “secessionist and separatist” leaders. Rashid was also booked.
According to the agency, these men “received and collected” funds through hawala channels in “connivance with active militants of…terrorist organizations Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Lashkar-e-Toiba” to fund “terrorist activities” in Jammu and Kashmir.
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