Delhi High Court reserves order on Rashid’s plea over Parliament travel costs

The Delhi High Court on Monday reserved its order on a plea filed by jailed Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid, who has challenged a directive requiring him to deposit nearly Rs 4 lakh towards expenses for travelling to Parliament while in custody.

A Bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Anup Jairam Bhambhani heard arguments from Rashid’s counsel, the Delhi Police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA). During the hearing, the court questioned why the burden of such expenses should fall on the MP himself if he was attending Parliament in custody.

Justice Bhambhani remarked that since Rashid remains in judicial custody, the jail authorities accompany him during travel. “If the jail travels with him, then the expenditure should be borne by the jail,” the judge observed.

Rashid’s lawyer argued that several components of the cost imposed on him were not permissible under the Delhi Prison Rules. He pointed out that the salaries of police personnel had been included in the calculation, which could not be charged to the MP. The counsel said Rashid was willing to bear reasonable expenses such as meals for escort staff, but not their salaries.

Earlier, the court had asked the Delhi Police to explain the basis on which the figure of Rs 4 lakh had been arrived at. The police subsequently provided a break-up of the costs, which included allowances and personnel expenses.

On March 25, a coordinate Bench had directed Rashid to deposit around Rs 4 lakh with the jail authorities for attending the monsoon session of Parliament in custody. It has also come on record that so far, the MP has been billed nearly Rs 17 lakh for such travel.

Rashid, who represents Baramulla, is facing trial in a terror funding case.