NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Thursday issued notice to National Investigation Agency and has sought its stand on the bail plea of Jammu and Kashmir MP Rashid Engineer in a terror funding case.
“Issue notice. Let reply/ status report be filed,” the high court said.
The senior counsel representing the lawmaker contended that his bail plea had been pending in the lower court for an extended period and requested the high court to either expedite its resolution or take up the matter directly.
Rashid had urged for a swift decision on his bail application, which was pending in a trial court.
“Engineer Rashid has always been a voice for the marginalised and a strong advocate for the democratic aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. His continued incarceration is deeply concerning and a disservice to the principles of democracy and justice,” said Inam-in-Nabi, the chief spokesman of Awami Ittehad Party on Wednesday.
Last year in December, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Chander Jit Singh dismissed Rashid’s plea to deliver a verdict on his pending bail application, saying that at that stage, he could only decide on the miscellaneous application, not the regular bail plea.
The district judge had earlier remanded the case to the ASJ for a hearing. However, the ASJ requested the district judge to transfer the case to a court designated for lawmakers, as Rashid had since become an MP. While Rashid’s counsel and the NIA jointly sought to keep the matter in the trial court already handling it, the ASJ also recommended transferring a related money laundering case and Rashid’s regular bail plea to the designated lawmakers’ court.
Elected from the Baramulla constituency in Lok Sabha elections 2024, Rashid has been lodged in Tihar Jail since 2019 after his arrest by the NIA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the 2017 terror-funding case.
The cases filed by the NIA and ED also involve Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba chief and 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, Hizbul Mujahideen leader Syed Salahuddin, and others. The ED initiated a money laundering case against the accused based on the NIA’s FIR, which alleged a conspiracy to wage war against the government and instigate unrest in the Kashmir Valley.
