On Friday, a Delhi court rejected the bail plea of Engineer Rashid, the Lok Sabha MP from Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir, in a case involving terror funding.
“The bail plea is dismissed,” Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh was cited as saying by news agency PTI in its report.
Rashid has been incarcerated in Tihar jail since 2019 following his apprehension by the National Investigation Agency under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act related to the 2017 terrorism funding case.
At a hearing this week, Rashid contested a March 10 ruling from the trial court that refused him custody parole or interim bail to participate in Lok Sabha sessions until April 4.
In its reply to the appeal on March 17, the agency stated that Rashid should not be permitted to leverage his position as an MP to “evade the challenges of incarceration.”
The agency contended that Rashid should not be granted interim bail or custody parole since he lacked an enforceable right to participate in the Parliament session while in lawful custody.
His name came up in the probe involving Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali, who was detained by the National Investigation Agency for allegedly financing armed groups and separatists in Kashmir.
The agency submitted a chargesheet against various individuals, among them separatist leader Yasin Malik, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed, and Hizbul Mujahideen head Syed Salahuddin.
In 2022, a trial court sentenced Malik to life in prison after he admitted guilt.
