Delhi High Court allows jailed MP Engineer Rashid to attend Parliament

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday allowed jailed MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh to attend the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament while remaining in custody.

A bench of Justices Chandra Dhari Singh and Anup Jairam Bhambhani ordered the director general (prisons) to send Sheikh to attend the session from March 26 to April 4 with a police escort.

However, the bench said that Sheikh would not be allowed to meet anyone, except within the premises of the Lok Sabha and in relation to his role as an MP, according to Bar and Bench. He would also not be permitted to talk to the media, it added.

The Baramulla MP, who is popularly known as Engineer Rashid, has been in jail since August 2019 in connection with a terror-funding case filed by the National Investigation Agency. He has been held under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Sheikh contested and won the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Baramulla while in jail, defeating National Conference leader Omar Abdullah.

The Budget Session began on January 31 and will conclude on April 4. There was a break from February 13 to March 10.

Earlier in February, Sheikh moved a petition in a trial court seeking custody parole to attend the session. The trial court rejected the application on March 10.

Sheikh subsequently approached the High Court.

During proceedings in the High...

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