Delhi HC to Hear Engineer Rashid’s Plea Against Order Imposing Travel Costs for Custody Parole on Aug 12
The Delhi High Court will on August 12 hear a plea filed by MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, challenging a trial court’s direction asking him to bear travel expenses as a condition for being granted custody parole to attend Parliament.
The order required him to deposit Rs 4 lakh with the prison authorities towards travel expenses for attending parliament.
Appearing for Rashid, Senior Advocate N Hariharan sought modification of the order passed by a coordinate bench, before the Division Bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Anup Jairam Bhambhani.
During the proceedings, Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani remarked that whenever custody parole is granted, the costs are ordinarily borne by the person seeking it.
Senior Advocate N Hariharan argued that the condition was unjust and unreasonable, stating that Rashid was unable to represent his constituency due to the condition imposed, which required him to pay daily expenses to attend the parliament.
"The order is that he be taken into custody, subject to conditions. I am saying the condition is erroneous amounting to defeating the order itself," the senior counsel added
After hearing the submissions, the court listed the matter for further hearing on August 12, 2025.
On 31 July, the court issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on a plea filed byRashid challenging the trial court’s order framing charges against him in a terror funding case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
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.
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 fulfil 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: Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani