Engineer Rashid completes seven years in jail; his party urges CJI to expedite bail plea

The Awami Itihaad Party (AIP) of jailed MP Engineer Rashid on Saturday said Rashid had completed seven years of incarceration and appealed to the Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, to consider his bail plea with “compassion, urgency and constitutional fairness”.

Addressing a press conference, AIP chief spokesperson Inam Un Nabi said the seven years of incarceration of an elected Member of Parliament “without the trial reaching its logical conclusion” was not merely a legal matter but a serious test of justice, constitutional values and human conscience.

“Er Rashid is not merely an accused. He is the democratically elected Member of Parliament from Baramulla, representing nearly 40 per cent of Kashmir’s population. For seven long years, the democratic voice of his constituents has remained away from the people who elected him,” Inam said.

Making a “humble and heartfelt” appeal to the Chief Justice of India, Inam urged that Rashid’s bail plea be considered with compassion, urgency and constitutional fairness.

He said the judiciary had repeatedly emphasised the importance of personal liberty and the principle that “bail is the rule and jail is the exception”.

“We are not questioning the judicial process. We have complete faith in the judiciary. Our only request is that justice must not be delayed, particularly when personal liberty is at stake,” he said.

The party said it was “not seeking any special privilege” for Rashid.

“We seek equal justice, equal treatment and the protection of constitutional guarantees available to every citizen. Our appeal is not political. It is constitutional and humanitarian,” Inam said.

During Saturday’s press conference, Inam also highlighted what the AIP described as a “significant development” in proceedings concerning Rashid before the Court of the Additional Sessions Judge, Patiala House Courts, New Delhi.

The party said that, according to the proceedings of July 6, 2026, Mohammad Yasin Malik, appearing through video conferencing, personally submitted before the court that the investigating agency had wrongly implicated Engineer Rashid by attributing to him the identity of “Sheikh Abdul Rashid” mentioned in an alleged email.

The court proceedings record Malik as stating that another person named Sheikh Abdul Rashid was associated with the JKLF and that the investigating agency had wrongly implicated Engineer Rashid in his place.

Malik also submitted an affidavit in this regard, which the court accepted on record and said would be considered while passing orders on charge, Inam said.

He said the development assumed significance because the attribution of “Sheikh Abdul Rashid” to Engineer Rashid had been among the allegations repeatedly relied upon against him.

He said the court record now contained a specific statement from the principal accused disputing that identification.