The Delhi High Court on Tuesday fixed February 24 to hear bail plea of Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid, who is lodged in Tihar Jail in a terror funding case. A trial court had recently refused to decide on his bail, saying it didn’t have the authority.
Justice Vikas Mahajan set the hearing date after the High Court’s registrar informed the court that the Supreme Court (SC) had clarified on Monday that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court handling the case could hear Rashid’s bail plea.
Rashid had approached the High Court earlier, claiming he had no option for relief after the NIA court left his bail application unresolved due to its inability to handle cases involving MPs and MLAs, following his election to the Lok Sabha last year.
The Delhi High Court on Monday granted custody parole to Baramulla MP Rashid Engineer, who is accused in a terror funding case, to attend the ongoing parliament session on February 11 and 13.
The court clarified that the custody parole was granted due to Rashid’s current lack of a remedy regarding the adjudication of his bail application, which is delayed because of the issue surrounding the designation of a court.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court acknowledged that the Registrar General has filed an application with the Supreme Court of India regarding the jurisdictional authority to hear Rashid’s bail plea in an NIA case.
This issue arose after the Special NIA Court (Trial Court) recently declined to hear the matter, citing that it falls under the jurisdiction of the MP/MLA court since Rashid Engineer has become a Member of Parliament.
NIA recently opposed the interim bail plea of Baramulla MP Rashid Engineer, arguing that it was not maintainable and should be dismissed on merits. In its reply, the NIA said, “The present case is a classic case of misuse of Interim Bail provision which has to be used sparingly when intolerable grief and suffering is displayed by the concerned Accused.”
NIA further stated that the Applicant or Rashid Engineer has not specified in what manner he will be able to serve his constituency and vague averment has been made that he intends to “serve the constituency” and therefore the same is not a valid ground for grant of any relief whatsoever. “Moreover, the work done by the Applicant/ Accused is put to strict proof to the work done by the Applicant/ Accused in his constituency,” it said.
Rashid’s counsel Senior Advocate N Hariharan argued that while his bail petition was heard in August, the subsequent issue of jurisdiction had left him without a remedy.
The counsel for Rashid Engineer submitted that his entire constituency cannot go unrepresented for a long period as he was not granted interim bail during the last session as well.
He pointed out that his regular bail has been pending since September 2024.
Engineer has moved the High Court after Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Chander Jit Singh, the special judge assigned to NIA cases, declined to rule on his bail application on December 23. The judge stated that the court only had the authority to hear miscellaneous applications, not bail petitions.
Rashid was arrested in August 2019 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). During his incarceration, he filed his nomination for the 2024 parliamentary elections from jail and won by a margin of 2,04,000 votes, defeating Omar Abdullah.
In 2022, the NIA Court of Patiala House Court ordered the framing of charges against Rashid Engineer and several other key figures, including Hafiz Saeed, Syed Salahuddin, Yasin Malik, Shabbir Shah, Masrat Alam, Zahoor Ahmed Watali, Bitta Karate, Aftab Ahmed Shah, Avtar Ahmed Shah, Naeem Khan, and Bashir Ahmed Butt (also known as Peer Saifullah).
The charges are part of an ongoing investigation into terror funding in Jammu and Kashmir, where the National Investigation Agency (NIA) alleges that various militant organizations, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and JKLF, collaborated with Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI, to orchestrate attacks on civilians and security forces in the region.
The NIA’s investigation claims that in 1993, the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) was formed to further separatist activities, with funding channelled through hawala and other covert methods. Hafiz Saeed, along with Hurriyat leaders, is accused of using these illicit funds to fuel unrest in Jammu and Kashmir, targeting security forces, inciting violence, burning schools, and damaging public property.
The agency contends that these operations were designed to destabilise the region and promote terrorism under the guise of political resistance. (ANI)
