HC seeks NIA reply over Rashid’s plea against Rs 17L costs to attend Parl

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought response from NIA after Jammu and Kashmir MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid, alias Engineer Rashid, approached the Delhi High Court challenging a trial court order that imposed costs of Rs 17 lakh on him while granting custody parole to attend the ongoing Parliament session.

A Division Bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Shalinder Kaur also tagged the matter with his pending regular bail application, which is listed for hearing on July 29.

Rashid, who was elected from Baramulla in the 2024 General Election, has been in custody since 2019. He was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a 2017 terror-funding case and has remained lodged in Tihar Jail since 2019 under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Appearing for Rashid, senior advocate N Hariharan argued that the MP was being unfairly burdened with hefty costs simply to perform his parliamentary duties. “He has been saddled with Rs 17 lakh to represent the public at large,” Hariharan submitted, pointing out that Rashid had previously been granted permission to attend the session without such punitive conditions. “He is losing every day of Parliament due to these excessive costs,” the senior counsel added.

On Tuesday, a Delhi court granted custody parole to jailed Lok Sabha MP Engineer Rashid between July 24 and August 4 to attend the monsoon session of Parliament.