Delhi HC to Hear Engineer Rashid's Plea Against Travel Cost for Attending Parliament on July 31

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, heard a plea by Baramulla MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh, also known as Engineer Rashid, challenging the trial court’s order directing him to bear travel costs as a condition for custody parole to attend Parliament.

Rashid is currently in jail in connection with a 2017 terror-funding case.

A division bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Mini Pushkarna said that Rashid’s plea will be heard on July 31.

In the previous hearing, the high court had sought a response from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on his  plea challenging a trial court order directing him to pay Rs 1.44 lakh per day for travelling to Parliament in custody between July 24 and August 4.

During the hearing today, Advocate Vikhyat Oberoi, appearing for Rashid, said,"Interim bail was not even considered. I’m only requesting a short passover if the senior could address."

He further submitted, "Parliament is ongoing, and the matter may kindly be heard tomorrow."

The court responded, "Give me a reason to sit over as an appellate court over the earlier one. As simple as judicial discipline. Our Division Bench applied its mind and taken a decision. We will follow that. You delay your proceedings and then try to put pressure upon us that Parliament is ongoing. We will hear you on August 1."

At this point, SPP Akshai Malik informed the court that Mr. Luthra is not available on August 1.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the NIA, added, "I have a personal difficulty on that day."

Taking note of this, the court listed the matter for hearing on July 31.

On July 22, the Special NIA Court at Patiala House, New Delhi, 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 bears the travel and security expenses himself.

Previously, Engineer Rashid had approached the High Court seeking custody parole to attend the parliament budget session. He argued that he was allowed to campaign for the elections without any objection from the NIA, but was not being allowed to fulfill his constitutional duties as a member of parliament. Senior Advocate Hariharan, representing Engineer Rashid, had argued that a previous order had granted Rashid permission to attend the budget session for two days.

The Delhi High Court, in an order dated 11 February 2025, granted custody parole to Engineer Rashid to attend the upcoming Parliament budget session.

Engineer Rashid has been incarcerated since 2019 after his arrest by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in a case related to terror funding from 2017. Engineer Rashid, who gained prominence by defeating former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Baramulla, approached the court seeking temporary relief. He sought interim bail to participate in the campaign for the forthcoming Jammu & Kashmir assembly elections.

In September 2024, Engineer Rashid was granted interim bail by the Rouse Avenue Court to campaign in the elections.

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

For Petitioner: Senior Advocate ​​N. Hariharan with Advocates Vikhyat Oberoi, Aditya Wadhwa, Nishita Gupta, Shivam Prakash, Ravi Sharma, Jagriti Pandey, Punya Rekha Angara, Vasundhara N., Sana Singh, Aman Akhtar, Vinayak Gautam and Hasnain Khwaja

For Respondent: Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, Special Public Prosecutor Akshai Malik with Advocates Ayush Aggarwal, K. Saleem, K.P. Rustom Khan and Yatharth Sharma

Case Title: Abdul Rashid Sheikh v National Investigative Agency

Date: 29 July 2025

Bench: Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Mini Pushkarna