New Delhi [India], July 31: The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on a plea filed by Member of Parliament (MP) Engineer Rashid, challenging the framing of charges against him in a terror funding case. The case is now listed for further hearing on October 6.
In a separate but related development, the High Court has transferred Rashid’s plea seeking modification of his custody parole order to the roster bench that previously issued the order. This plea is set to be heard on August 6 before a bench comprising Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, subject to the Chief Justice’s directive.
A division bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Shalinder Kaur sought a response from the NIA regarding Rashid’s challenge to the charges. Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Akshai Malik accepted the notice on behalf of the NIA. Rashid’s regular bail petition is also pending before the same bench and will be heard concurrently on the next date.
During the hearing of his plea for interim bail/custody parole to attend the full Parliament session, the High Court suggested that since the arguments were similar to a previously heard matter, it would be better for Rashid’s counsel to press for a modification of the earlier order. Senior advocate N Hariharan, representing Engineer Rashid, accepted this suggestion and requested the matter be listed before the roster bench that had passed the initial order.
MP Engineer Rashid is seeking interim bail to fulfill his parliamentary duties. On July 29, the court had noted that his application for modification of the earlier order was still pending and that a fresh application on the same issue could not be heard again. Rashid’s counsel had submitted an alternative plea for interim bail, but the court advised them to pursue the modification plea, as the issue had been previously considered by a predecessor division bench.
Earlier, on July 25, the Delhi High Court had issued notice to the NIA on his interim bail plea, where he sought permission to attend the ongoing Parliament session.
Prior to this, on July 22, a Special NIA court had rejected his plea for interim bail but granted him custody parole from July 24 to August 4, specifically for the parliamentary session. This custody parole was granted with the condition that Rashid would bear the associated costs. Rashid has since challenged this condition, arguing that the custody parole was granted for a limited period and seeking either interim bail or extended custody parole from July 23 to August 21 to attend the entire Monsoon session, without having to bear the expenses for travel and other arrangements.
Engineer Rashid is currently in judicial custody in connection with a terror funding case linked to Hafiz Saeed. He is represented by Senior Advocate N Hariharan, along with Advocates Aditya Wadhwa, Vikhyat Oberoi, and Nishita Gupta.
Before the special court, it was argued that Rashid had been granted interim bail for state election campaigning on September 10, 2024, which was extended thrice, thus indicating he should not be considered a security threat. Furthermore, the Delhi High Court had twice previously allowed him to attend Parliament in custody on February 10 and March 25, during which he duly participated.
The NIA had opposed his plea for interim bail, suggesting that if allowed to attend in custody, he should bear the travel expenses. Rashid’s counsels have consistently opposed paying travel expenses, asserting that his attendance at Parliament is a public duty, not a personal one. On earlier occasions, Engineer Rashid had also been permitted to attend parliament sessions and take the oath.