Delhi HC Fixes January Hearing on Engineer Rashid’s Plea Against Travel Cost for Attending Parliament

The Delhi High Court on Friday, 14 November 2025, said it would hold a preliminary hearing on a plea filed by Jammu and Kashmir MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh (Engineer Rashid) challenging a trial court’s order that required him to pay costs as a condition for being granted custody parole to attend Parliament.

Justice Ravinder Dudeja said that the court would first conduct a preliminary enquiry to determine whether he should decide the appeal himself or refer it to a larger Bench.

The matter reached the single judge after a Division Bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Anup Kumar Bhambani delivered a split verdict on Rashid’s challenge to the trial court’s directive.

During the proceedings, Senior Advocate N. Hariharan appeared for Rashid, while Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra represented the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Both submitted that the judge must decide whether to pronounce a judgment on the appeal or direct that it be reheard by a larger Bench.

Justice Dudeja has listed the matter for January 14 for the preliminary hearing.

Earlier, on November 7, the Division Bench had delivered a split verdict on Rashid’s plea challenging the trial court’s direction that he bear costs as a condition for being granted custody parole to attend Parliament.

Justice Bhambani allowed the petition, while Justice Chaudhary dismissed it. With the two judges differing in their opinions, the matter was placed before the Chief Justice for appropriate orders, who then placed it before Justice Ravinder Dudeja.

Pronouncing the verdict, the Court said: “My brother and I have not been able to concur on the manner in which the application is to be disposed of. Therefore, we will render two separate and divergent judgments, and the matter will be placed before the Chief Justice for appropriate directions. Let the matter be placed before Chief Justice.....”

In August, the Court had reserved its order after hearing submissions from Rashid, the Delhi Police, and the NIA. On August 12, the High Court had asked the Delhi Police to explain the basis of the travel cost imposed on Engineer Rashid as a condition for granting him custody parole to attend Parliament. The counsel appearing for the Delhi Police had explained the calculation of the cost, stating, “He is a high-value target with connections to various terrorist organisations. The number of police officials involved is 15, and the amount has been calculated. He is required to pay it.”

The Court had also been informed that the salaries of the police officials formed part of the cost imposed. Responding, the Court had observed, “This man did not even have his liberty back. He had not been granted interim bail; he was only on custody parole. The jail authorities were travelling with him; he remained in custody. If the jail travels with him, whatever expenses are there, it is for the jail to incur.”

Appearing for Rashid, Senior Advocate N. Hariharan had argued, “What I am trying to persuade Your Lordship is that if custody parole is granted, I should not be burdened with the salary of 15 people.” He had further submitted that Rashid had already been granted custody parole by the trial court, and that order had not been challenged by the NIA.

The Court had accordingly reserved its verdict.

On July 22, the Special NIA Court at Patiala House had granted custody parole to Engineer Rashid to enable his attendance during the monsoon session of Parliament, scheduled from July 24 to August 4, subject to the condition that he bear the travel and security expenses himself.

The NIA had registered a case on May 30, 2017, invoking Section 120B of the IPC (criminal conspiracy) and various provisions of the UAPA, 1967, against Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed and other separatist leaders, including Engineer Rashid, for allegedly fuelling secessionist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

Case Title: Abdul Rashid Sheikh v National Investigative Agency

Bench: Justice Ravinder Dudeja

Date: 14 November 2025