Delhi court reserves order on MP Rashid’s plea to attend Parliament

A Delhi court on Tuesday reserved its order on Lok Sabha MP Engineer Rashid’s plea to attend the monsoon session of Parliament starting July 21.

In a statement, Awami Ittehad Party Party’s chief spokesperson Inam Un Nabi said the NIA Court at Patiala House today heard the petition seeking permission for party president Engineer Rashid to attend the upcoming Parliament session scheduled to commence from July 21. Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh reserved the order for July 21 on the plea.

Party said Engineer Rashid’s lawyer “forcefully argued for interim bail or in the alternative, permission to attend the Parliament proceedings in custody, emphasising that this request was being made in discharge of his constitutional and public duty, not for personal purposes.”

Custody parole entails a prisoner being escorted by armed police personnel to the plea.

Nabi said the counsel pointed out that the trial court had earlier granted interim bail to Er Rashid on September 10, for campaigning in the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly elections, which was extended thrice, thereby affirming that he does not pose any security threat.

They recalled that the Delhi High Court had already permitted Engineer Rashid to attend Parliament proceedings in custody on two earlier occasions—via orders dated February 10, 2025, and March 25, 2025—both of which he complied with and participated respectfully.

However, the party said NIA opposed the plea and argued against granting interim bail. “They also contended that if he is permitted to attend in custody, he must bear the cost of travel,” said Nabi.

Rashid’s counsel opposed payment of travel expenses, saying the MP sought to attend Parliament as his public duty.

According to Nabi, the party is hopeful that the judiciary will recognise the constitutional and democratic rights of Er Rashid and allow him to fulfil his responsibilities as a sitting Member of Parliament.

Rashid has been lodged in Tihar jail since 2019 after he was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the 2017 terror funding case.

J & K