New Delhi, Jul 29 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said it would hear on July 31 jailed Lok Sabha MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh’s plea seeking interim bail to attend the Monsoon session of Parliament.
A bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Mini Pushkarna also indicated that it is inclined to send before another bench Rashid’s plea challenging a trial court’s order that has asked him to bear the travel expenses of Rs 1.44 lakh per day for attending the Parliament session in custody from July 24 to August 4.
Justice Chaudhary was of the view that the plea moved by Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, seeking a waiver of the travel expenses to attend the Monsoon session of Parliament be heard by a bench that had previously heard a similar plea by him during the Budget session.
“For every session of Parliament, there cannot be a fresh application. You had moved a modification application earlier. You should press the modification application before the earlier bench and it will be applicable for all future sessions. Once a division bench has applied its mind and taken a decision, we will follow the same order. We have to follow judicial discipline. We cannot sit in appeal over a division bench’s order,” the court told Rashid’s counsel.
The judges further said “it would be wrong on our part to hear the matter, when a bench has already taken a call on a similar issue…. The issue is the same as on what terms a person can be allowed to attend Parliament”.
Besides this, Rashid’s regular bail plea is also pending before the high court.
As the lawyer urged the court to pass over the matter for some time due to the non-availability of the main counsel, the court listed it for July 31.
It also asked the jail authorities to provide Rashid’s nominal roll and trial court record.
The MP from Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla has been lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since 2019, after he was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in a 2017 terror-funding case.
Rashid’s counsel had earlier submitted that the MP has already been saddled with a cost of Rs 17 lakh to represent the public at large in Parliament.
He had said Rashid was previously allowed to attend Parliament and that he is losing every day as he is not able to attend the session due to the huge travel expenses.
Rashid has sought either interim bail or custody parole, with travel expenses, to carry out his duty as a parliamentarian.
Custody parole entails a prisoner being escorted by armed police personnel to the place of visit.
The trial court granted custody parole to Rashid on July 22 to attend the Parliament session from July 24 to August 4, subject to the payment of the travel expenses.
The Baramulla MP, who defeated Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, is facing trial in the terror-funding case, with allegations that he funded separatists and terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the NIA’s FIR, Rashid’s name cropped up during the interrogation of businessman and co-accused Zahoor Watali.
After being chargesheeted in October 2019, a special NIA court framed charges against Rashid and others in March 2022 under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging war against the government) and 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code and for offences relating to terrorist acts and terror funding under the UAPA. PTI SKV RC
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