On March 26, the Delhi High Court granted permission for Rashid to attend Parliament under custody parole. One of the conditions was that he must bear the travel costs.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has asked Baramulla MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh, also known as Engineer Rashid, to pay Rs 3.35 lakh for his travel from Tihar Jail to Parliament. Rashid is currently in jail under charges related to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
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A Division Bench of Justices Chandra Dhari Singh and Anup Jairam Bhambhani noted that Rashid had already paid around Rs 1.45 lakh. The Court ruled that he must pay the remaining balance before his final hearing on who should bear the cost of his travel and security expenses.
The Tihar Jail authorities informed the Court that the total expense for Rashid’s travel would be around Rs 8.7 lakh. The Court balanced both sides’ interests and decided that Rashid must pay 50% of this amount before the Court takes a final decision.
On March 26, the Delhi High Court granted permission for Rashid to attend Parliament under custody parole. One of the conditions was that he must bear the travel costs.
The next day, on March 27, Rashid approached the Court again, stating that the jail authorities had told him that the cost of his commute from Tihar to Parliament would be Rs 1.45 lakh per day.
Senior Advocate N Hariharan, who represented Rashid, argued that the cost was too high and that Rashid did not have the money to pay for it.
“I don’t have anything my lord. Last time people from my constituency deposited money… I will somehow try and raise Rs 50K and make a deposit. I don’t have the money but I will tell my people to do crowdfunding,” Rashid stated.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Rajkumar Bhaskar Thakare opposed Rashid’s plea, stating that Rashid was misleading the court by saying he had no money.
“He was an MLA and even as MP he is drawing salary. When contesting for elections he declared assets of Rs 1.5 crores,” the ASG argued.
After hearing both sides, the Court ruled that Rashid must pay half the travel expenses. The Court also told the ASG that if Rashid failed to pay the remaining amount, his MP salary and assets could be attached to cover the costs.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 19.
Background
Engineer Rashid has been in Tihar Jail since 2019 for an alleged terror funding case under the UAPA. Despite being in jail, he contested and won the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 elections, defeating Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah by over two lakh votes.
Following his victory, Rashid approached the Delhi High Court, seeking permission to attend the Parliament session. The Court granted his request on March 26 with the condition that he must pay for his travel.
The Court’s order clearly stated:
“The expense for the aforesaid travel and other arrangements shall be borne by the appellant.”
