The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to clear its stand on a plea filed by Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid seeking parole to attend the ongoing parliament session amidst a jurisdictional row.
The bench of Justice Vikas Mahajan has listed the hearing for February 7. Engineer Rashid is currently lodged in Tihar jail over charges of terror funding.
During the hearing, the Delhi High Court recognised that the Registrar General had filed an application with the Supreme Court of India regarding the jurisdictional authority to hear Rashid’s bail plea in an NIA case.
The issue came to the forefront following the NIA court’s denial of hearing Rashid’s bail plea, citing that the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the MP/MLA court since Rashid Engineer has become a Member of Parliament.
On the previous date of the hearing, NIA 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 the interim bail provision, which has to be used sparingly when intolerable grief and suffering is displayed by the concerned accused.”
Rashid was apprehended in August 2019 under the (UAPA) Act. During his incarceration, he filed his nomination for the 2024 parliamentary elections from jail and won by a margin of 204,000 votes, defeating Omar Abdullah, who became the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir later the same year.
Also read: Whose court is it anyway? Confusion on jailed MP Rashid’s bail plea
Meanwhile, in 2022, the NIA court of Patiala House court ordered the framing of charges against Rashid, 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 J&K, where the NIA alleges that militant outfits like 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.
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.
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