Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking interim bail or custody parole to attend the Budget Session of the Parliament. Rashid has sought bail from January 31 to April 4. The Delhi High Court is likely to hear the bail plea on January 30.
Rashid had earlier in November also sought interim bail to attend the Winter Session of the Parliament but was denied. His party Awami Itehad Party (AIP) had termed it a 'violation' of democratic principles.
AIP chief spokesperson Inam Un Nabi, in a statement, said, "The session, particularly significant due to its focus on constitutional debates, excluded a constitutionally elected representative from Jammu and Kashmir raising serious concerns about the government's approach toward democratic norms."
Rashid was elected from the Baramulla constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and has been lodged in Tihar Jail since 2019 after the NIA arrested him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the 2017 terror-funding case.
Both the cases filed by the NIA and the 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 filed a money laundering case against the accused persons on the basis of the NIA's FIR, which accused them of "conspiring to wage war against the government" and fomenting trouble in the Kashmir Valley. Earlier in September, he got the bail to campaign for his party candidates in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.
(With inputs from agencies)