New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday (February 10) allowed two-day custody parole to jailed Bramulla Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, to attend the ongoing session of Parliament.
Justice Vikas Mahajan said that the Baramulla MP could attend the Parliament session on February 11 and 13 and imposed certain conditions on him, including not to use a cellphone and not to address media.
What did the High Court say?
The High Court said that Rashid, who is lodged in Tihar Jail in judicial custody in a terror funding case, would be ferried to Lok Sabha and back on the said dates, and the security inside Parliament would be decided in consultation with the secretary general.
The High Court on February 7 reserved its order on Rashid’s plea.
Rashid moved a plea before the High Court seeking interim bail to attend the ongoing Parliament session and custody parole in the alternative.
My parliamentary constituency was not being represented in Parliament, Rashid argued
The counsel representing the Baramulla MP had argued before the court that his Lok Sabha constituency was not being represented in Parliament and he ought to be allowed to attend the ongoing Parliament session.
“I represent the largest constituency of Jammu and Kashmir. Don’t prevent the representation when the process of inclusion has started… Don’t stifle the voice of the constituency”, counsel representing Rashid argued before the High Court.
NIA opposed custody parole for Rashid to attend Parliament
The counsel representing the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had opposed the plea by Rashid seeking custody parole to attend the Parliament session, saying he had no vested right to attend Parliament. The NIA further said that he has not shown any “specific purpose” and also raised security issues in letting him attend the ongoing Parliament session.
