The Delhi High Court has scheduled a hearing for the bail plea of Abdul Rashid Sheikh, also known as Engineer Rashid, on February 24, following a clarification from the Supreme Court regarding the appropriate forum for its adjudication. Engineer Rashid, a Member of Parliament currently detained in a terror funding case, had faced uncertainty over the jurisdiction of his bail plea.
Justice Vikas Mahajan postponed the hearing after the high court’s administration counsel informed him of the Supreme Court’s decision on Monday, which clarified that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court is competent to hear the bail plea.
Previously, Rashid had appealed to the high court, claiming that the NIA court’s status as a non-special MP/MLA court left his bail application in a state of limbo following his election to the Lok Sabha in the previous year.
As a temporary measure, Rashid was granted two days of custody parole to attend the ongoing Parliament session on February 11 and 13. This development was followed by Justice Mahajan’s oral suggestion on Tuesday for Rashid’s attorney to approach the NIA court regarding the bail.
Despite this, Rashid’s counsel requested a one-week adjournment. The court, while postponing the matter, directed the high court administration’s attorney to submit the official order regarding the court’s designation to hear Rashid’s case, as per the Supreme Court’s directive.
Engineer Rashid, who represents the Baramulla constituency, has been incarcerated in Tihar Jail since 2019. He was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a 2017 case alleging terror funding, where he is accused of supporting separatist groups and terrorist organizations in Jammu and Kashmir.
This legal complication arose after a 2016 Supreme Court judgment that mandated a special MP/MLA court to handle cases involving legislators. The ambiguity concerning which court should hear his bail plea led the Delhi High Court’s registrar general to seek a definitive ruling from the apex court.
