New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has delivered a split verdict on a petition filed by Baramulla MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh, also known as Engineer Rashid.
He had sought a waiver of the expenses that he had been asked to pay for security and travel arrangements to attend Lok Sabha sessions while in custody.
The division bench heard the case earlier and had reserved the verdict in August.
The matter was heard by Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Anup Bhambhani. On Friday, they announced differing opinions in open court. Justice Chaudhary said that he has dismissed the plea. Justice Bhambhani said that he has allowed it. Justice Bhambhani also orally stated that the bench has “not been able to concur” and added that “two separate judgments, they’re divergent and discordant”.
Because of the split, the matter will now be sent to the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court for further directions. A detailed written order is awaited.
Rashid is currently in Delhi’s Tihar Jail. He has been there since 2019 in a case linked to alleged terror funding. He was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, in an NIA case that was filed in 2017 against Lashkar-e-Toiba founder Hafiz Saeed and other “secessionist and separatist” leaders.
A special NIA court framed charges against Rashid in March 2022. Rashid had won the Baramulla seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by more than two lakh votes. He defeated Omar Abdullah, who is now the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
In March this year, the HC allowed Rashid to attend the Budget session of Parliament. However, the court put a condition that he must pay for his travel and all other arrangements while he is in custody. The same condition was again imposed when he sought permission to attend the Monsoon session. Rashid challenged this second imposition through his lawyer Vikhyat Oberoi.
During the hearing, the Delhi government presented a detailed cost sheet. It said that Rashid’s escort team included an assistant commissioner of police, an inspector, a sub-inspector, an assistant sub-inspector, and eight head constables. The DAV NAP is responsible for transporting prisoners between jails and courts or agency offices.
On November 12, 2024, the Delhi government issued a notification. It set the charges for “additional police on payment, to private persons, commercial establishments, and for other duties” under the Delhi Police Act and the Delhi Police (Miscellaneous Matters) Rules.
The office of the DCP, Nyayik Abhiraksha Vahini, Delhi Armed Police (NAV DAP), also issued a statement on July 23.
It said, “As per instructions from the Govt of NCT of Delhi, NAV DAP is charging Rs 7,039 for each ACP, Rs 7,176 for each inspector, Rs 5,739 for each SI, Rs 4,783 for each ASI, Rs 4,232 for each HC (head constable) and Rs 3,658 for each constable per shift i.e., per day of five hours and per night of four hours for the deployment of police guard to private persons on payment basis. As such, considering 10 hours in a day, then the total 2 shifts will be calculated, and the estimated cost of custody charge will come to Rs 1,44,795,” for Rashid.
The NIA has accused Rashid of using public forums to promote separatism and secessionist ideology.
The case will now await the Chief Justice’s next steps due to the conflicting verdicts from the two judges.
