SRINAGAR: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of MP Baramulla Abdul Rashid Sheikh aka Engineer Rashid, on his plea seeking interim bail to attend the ongoing Parliament session. The matter has now been listed for July 31, as reported by Indian Express.
The adjournment came after Senior Advocate N Hariharan, representing Rashid, was unable to reach the court due to a traffic jam. Advocate Vikhyat Oberoi appeared on Rashid’s behalf and sought a pass over, which the court allowed. However, Hariharan was still unable to appear during the second call.
A division bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Shalinder Kaur noted that a previous application seeking similar relief was still pending. The bench said that the same issue could not be argued repeatedly under a fresh application and advised the counsel to press the pending modification plea instead.
Rashid, currently in judicial custody in a terror funding case linked to Hafiz Saeed, has requested interim bail or, alternatively, an extension of custody parole from July 23 to August 21 to attend the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
On July 25, the High Court had issued a notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Rashid’s interim bail plea. The NIA, represented virtually by Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra and Special Public Prosecutor Akshai Malik, opposed the plea and insisted that if attendance is allowed in custody, Rashid must bear the travel expenses.
Rashid’s counsel argued that attending Parliament is part of his public duty, not a personal matter, and therefore he should not be asked to pay for travel and arrangements.
Earlier, the Special NIA Court had rejected Rashid’s interim bail plea on July 22 but granted him custody parole from July 24 to August 4. The parole is applicable only during Parliament sessions, and Rashid was required to bear associated costs and follow conditions.
Counsel also cited previous instances when the court permitted Rashid to attend Parliament in custody, including on February 10 and March 25, 2025. They also referenced an interim bail granted on September 10, 2024, for election campaigning, which was extended thrice.
Engineer Rashid is being represented by a legal team including Senior Advocate N Hariharan and Advocates Aditya Wadhwa, Vikhyat Oberoi, and Nishita Gupta.
