India: A Delhi court on Wednesday granted custody parole to incarcerated Baramulla Lok Sabha member Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, permitting him to attend the upcoming winter session of Indian Parliament beginning December 1.
Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh of Patiala House Courts allowed Rashid to be taken from Tihar Jail to Parliament House under heavy security on each sitting day of the sixth session of the 18th Lok Sabha and returned to jail immediately after proceedings conclude.
The jailed MP, who has been in custody since August 2019 in a National Investigation Agency (NIA) terror-funding case, will remain barred from interacting with the media, using mobile phones or the internet, or meeting anyone outside official parliamentary duties, the court ordered.
Rashid, president of the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), created a major upset in the 2024 general elections by defeating Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the Baramulla constituency by more than two lakh votes while lodged in jail.
This is the latest in a series of similar court permissions granted to Rashid, including for taking oath in July 2024, attending previous sessions, and casting his vote in the Vice-Presidential election.
The winter session of Parliament is scheduled from December 1 to December 20, 2025.
