New Delhi: Newly elected Lok Sabha MP from North Kashmir Sheikh Abdul Rashid, arrested in a terror financing case in Jammu and Kashmir in 2017, failed to get interim bail on Saturday and a special court adjourned the matter Until July 1st.
The court asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file a reply to his plea and also inform it when he could take oath as an MP.
The newly elected Lok Sabha MPs are scheduled to take oath on June 24, 25 and 26.
During the hearing, Rashid's lawyer sought bail for him to take oath and cited a recent order in which AAP leader Sanjay Singh, accused in the Delhi excise 'scam' money laundering case , he was allowed to take the identical oath as a Rajya Sabha MP. recently.
However, Additional Sessions Judge Kiran Gupta observed that the charges leveled against Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, were on a different basis than those faced by the AAP leader.
The NIA stated that it is in the process of consulting Parliament and Tihar Jail authorities "with regard to the prayer requested by the applicant for his oath-taking ceremony". "Let the NIA file the reply, if any, on 01.07.2024 before the concerned court. As stated in the video order dated 18.06.2024, the NIA should also inform the court about the date on which the applicant /accused may be sworn in as a Member of Parliament.
"He will be submitted to the corresponding court for consideration on 07/01/2024 at 11 a.m.," the judge said in his order.
The judge allowed the NIA to pray for time to file its reply.
Lawyer Vikhyat Oberoi argued for Rashid's release on bail, stating: "He is the person who won the elections with a huge majority. People love him and want him to fight democratically in parliament."
"It is my (Rashid's) constitutional duty to take oath. I am forced to plead before them to take oath. This is really shameful. The court can order the jail authorities to contact the Lok Sabha Secretariat, order the NIA contact the Lok Sabha, or direct the Lok Sabha Secretariat to specify the date on which Rashid can take oath," the lawyer said.
Rashid has petitioned the court for him to seek interim bail, or alternatively, conditional release from custody, in order for him to take the oath and perform his parliamentary duties.
Rashid has been in jail since 2019 after the NIA charged him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his alleged involvement in a terror financing case. He is currently lodged in Tihar Jail.
The former MLA's name emerged during the investigation of Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali, whom the NIA had arrested for allegedly funding terrorist and separatist groups in the Kashmir Valley.
The NIA had filed a charge sheet against several people, including Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin in the case. Malik was sentenced to life imprisonment by a lower court in 2022 after he pleaded guilty to the charges.
The court asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file a reply to his plea and also inform it when he could take oath as an MP.
The newly elected Lok Sabha MPs are scheduled to take oath on June 24, 25 and 26.
During the hearing, Rashid's lawyer sought bail for him to take oath and cited a recent order in which AAP leader Sanjay Singh, accused in the Delhi excise 'scam' money laundering case , he was allowed to take the identical oath as a Rajya Sabha MP. recently.
However, Additional Sessions Judge Kiran Gupta observed that the charges leveled against Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, were on a different basis than those faced by the AAP leader.
The NIA stated that it is in the process of consulting Parliament and Tihar Jail authorities "with regard to the prayer requested by the applicant for his oath-taking ceremony". "Let the NIA file the reply, if any, on 01.07.2024 before the concerned court. As stated in the video order dated 18.06.2024, the NIA should also inform the court about the date on which the applicant /accused may be sworn in as a Member of Parliament.
"He will be submitted to the corresponding court for consideration on 07/01/2024 at 11 a.m.," the judge said in his order.
The judge allowed the NIA to pray for time to file its reply.
Lawyer Vikhyat Oberoi argued for Rashid's release on bail, stating: "He is the person who won the elections with a huge majority. People love him and want him to fight democratically in parliament."
"It is my (Rashid's) constitutional duty to take oath. I am forced to plead before them to take oath. This is really shameful. The court can order the jail authorities to contact the Lok Sabha Secretariat, order the NIA contact the Lok Sabha, or direct the Lok Sabha Secretariat to specify the date on which Rashid can take oath," the lawyer said.
Rashid has petitioned the court for him to seek interim bail, or alternatively, conditional release from custody, in order for him to take the oath and perform his parliamentary duties.
Rashid has been in jail since 2019 after the NIA charged him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his alleged involvement in a terror financing case. He is currently lodged in Tihar Jail.
The former MLA's name emerged during the investigation of Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali, whom the NIA had arrested for allegedly funding terrorist and separatist groups in the Kashmir Valley.
The NIA had filed a charge sheet against several people, including Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin in the case. Malik was sentenced to life imprisonment by a lower court in 2022 after he pleaded guilty to the charges.
