Court asks for NIA response on Rashid’s plea to attend Parliament

Highlights

A Delhi court on Monday asked the NIA to respond to a plea of jailed Jammu and Kashmir MP Engineer Rashid who sought to attend the upcoming Parliament session.

New Delhi : A Delhi court on Monday asked the NIA to respond to a plea of jailed Jammu and Kashmir MP Engineer Rashid who sought to attend the upcoming Parliament session.

Additional sessions judge Chander Jit Singh asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file its reply by March 5 on Rashid’s plea.

The application, filed by advocate Vikhyat Oberoi for Rashid on February 27, sought the relief on the grounds that Rashid was a parliamentarian and needed to attend the upcoming session to fulfil his public duty.

Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, defeated Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Baramulla.

Rashid’s regular bail application is currently pending before the court. The second part of Parliament’s Budget session would begin on March 10 and end on April 4.

The judge on September 10 granted interim bail to Rashid to enable him to campaign for the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Rashid surrendered himself before Tihar Jail on October 27.

Rashid has been lodged in Tihar jail since 2019 after he was arrested by the NIA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a 2017 terror funding case.

Elections to the 90-member J-K assembly were held in three phases from September 18 to October 1. The results were declared on October 8 in which the National Conference-Congress alliance attained a clear majority with 48 seats.

The Delhi High Court on February 24 directed the sessions judge to expeditiously decide the bail plea of Rashid in the case.