Unable to represent constituency due to court rider: Engineer Rashid to HC

Jammu and Kashmir MP Engineer Rashid, accused in alleged terror funding case, on Wednesday informed the Delhi High Court that he was unable to represent his constituency owing to a rider imposed on him to pay daily costs to attend the parliamentary session.

Appearing before a bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Anup Jairam Bhambhani, Rashid sought the modification of an order passed by a coordinate bench. 

 

The order directed him to deposit Rs 4 lakh with the prison authorities as travel expenses for attending Parliament.

During the hearing, the bench remarked that when custody parole is granted, it is ordinarily at the cost of the person.

At this, senior advocate N Hariharan, appearing for Rashid said the condition was unreasonable because "he (Rashid) is an elected representative of the people of a parliamentary constituency and unable to represent them due to inability to pay the same".

Hariharan continued, "If the condition imposed is such that he is unable to go (to the parliament), we are interfering with the basic elements of democracy in this country." 

  He claimed when Rashid took the oath, "the state never asked for expenses".

"These are conditions imposed to somehow see to it that the voice of my constituency is not heard there," the senior lawyer added.

The counsel pointed out he was not seeking a review of the order but "only the modification of the conditions".

"The order is he be taken into custody, subject to conditions. I am saying the condition is erroneous amounting to defeating the order itself," he said.

The bench posted the matter for August 12.

The Baramulla MP, who defeated Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, is facing trial in a terror funding case with allegations that he funded separatists and terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir.

He has been lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail since 2019 after the NIA arrested him in the 2017 terror-funding case. He was granted interim bail for one month in September last year to campaign in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election.

The NIA's FIR alleged Rashid's name cropped up during the interrogation of businessman and co-accused Zahoor Watali.