Delhi HC asks J&K MP Engineer Rashid to deposit Rs 4 lakh for going to Parliament in custody
Terror funding case
New Delhi, Mar 29 (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Friday asked Jammu and Kashmir MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh, alias Engineer Rashid, to deposit Rs 4 lakh with the prison authorities as travel expenses for attending Parliament.
A bench of Justices Chandra Dhari Singh and Anup Jairam Bhambhani on March 25 allowed him to attend the ongoing Parliament session "in-custody" till April 4 and rejected the NIA's apprehension that he was a flight risk.
Rashid counsel on Friday said he had already deposited Rs 1.45 lakh with the authorities and would deposit the remaining Rs 2.55 lakh within three days.
The bench said upon depositing the amount, he would be taken to the Parliament to attend the session.
The court observed it did not want the purpose of its order on allowing Rashid to attend the Parliament session to be defeated and therefore it was trying to strike a balance between the interest of both the parties.
Rashid, the court said, should at least deposit 50 per cent of the total amount of Rs 8.74 lakh and posted the matter on May 19.
The NIA, in the meantime, was directed to respond to Rashid's plea for a waiver of the condition to bear travel expenses to attend the Parliament session within four weeks.
Rashid said the March 25 order granting him permission to attend Parliament was uploaded on the court’s website on March 26 afternoon and in the evening his counsel received an e-mail from the jail authorities that he was required to pay around Rs 1.45 lakh each day for travel and other arrangements.
It summed up to Rs 8.74 lakh for the six-day duration, the plea said.
Rashid claimed of not being in afinancial position to bear the “excessively high” cost and he was going to fulfil his constitutional duties and not allowed to be prejudiced with such high costs.
His plea was opposed by the NIA counsel who said it was a gross misuse of the law.
Rashid's counsel said the parliamentarian did not have money to give to the authorities which hampered him from attending the Parliament sessions and he would have to crowd fund the amount.
While allowing him to attend Parliament, the court had asked plain-clothed policemen to escort Rashid from prison to Parliament on days of the Lok Sabha session between March 26 and April 4 aside from bearing the expenses for the to-and-fro travel and other arrangements.
Rashid, who is facing trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in a 2017 terror funding case, had challenged a March 10 trial court order refusing him custody parole or interim bail to attend Lok Sabha proceedings till April 4.
In the high court, he gave up his plea for interim bail or custody parole and sought to attend the Parliament sessions "in-custody".
The NIA had opposed the plea saying by allowing him to attend Parliament, would enable him a platform to air his opinions which he could misuse.
The high court, however, said the control of parliamentary proceedings was within the remit of the Lok Sabha speaker and it had no doubt that the proceedings would be conducted with requisite discipline.
The Baramulla MP, who defeated Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, is facing trial in a terror funding case with allegations that he funded separatists and terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir.
He has been lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail since 2019 after the NIA arrested him in the 2017 terror-funding case. He was granted interim bail for one month in September last year to campaign in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election.
The NIA's FIR alleged Rashid's name cropped up during the interrogation of businessman and co-accused Zahoor Watali.
After being chargesheeted in October 2019, a special NIA court framed charges against Rashid and others in March 2022 under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging war against the government), and 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code and for offences relating to terrorist acts and terror funding under UAPA.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Uncompromising stand against Bangladesh-origin Muslims swayed votes for NDA: Himanta
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday asserted that his government's "uncompromising stand" in taking steps against Bangladesh-origin Muslims swayed people in favour of the BJP-led NDA in this year's assembly elections, resulting in the alliance securing a two-thirds majority.
He maintained that the NDA's win was a victory for the Assamese indigenous people and affirmed continuing developmental work in the state.
Addressing a press conference, Sarma said, "The double-engine government and unprecedented development the state witnessed in the last five years are among the main reasons for our victory."
"We had assured of securing the Assamese 'jati' (community) and took steps to deliver it. Assam progressed in the cultural and economic sectors. Our uncompromising stand against Bangladesh-origin Muslims also had an impact," he said.
The NDA swept to a third successive term in the state by securing 102 seats in the 126-member state assembly. The BJP won 82 seats, while its allies AGP and Bodoland People's Front bagged 10 each.
On Sarma predicting nearly exact numbers for the alliance before the results, he said the assessment was based on his connect with the people.
"I visited every assembly segment thrice before elections. I have a good mass connect system, which helped in my assessment," he said.
Sarma claimed that recommendations of the Justice (retd) Biplab Sharma committee on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which deals with constitutional safeguards for the indigenous Assamese population, were implemented by his government.
"It was because of it that the Assamese people won yesterday. It was not just a BJP victory," he asserted.
The CM claimed the NDA secured the support of all sections of people, including Gen Z, which was evident in the young faces fielded by the BJP emerging victorious.
He dismissed the charge that the BJP has an "outsider" among its MLAs, referring to Guwahati Central legislator-elect Vijay Gupta.
"Vijay Gupta is an Assamese. If he is a Bihari, we (ancestors) also came from Kannauj. We all have come from different parts. Mongoloids came from outside, Aryans came from outside. This outsider narrative has been created by you all (media)," Sarma said.
On the Congress' poor poll performance, he maintained that there were very few people in the opposition party who understood the sentiments of the Assamese people.
Otherwise, the Congress would not have brought singer Zubeen Garg's name in its manifesto or levied allegations against an Assamese woman, Sarma added, referring to the opposition party's charges of multiple passports and undisclosed foreign investments of his wife.
The CM also maintained that Raijor Dal could have won four-five seats had it not joined hands with the Congress.
The Congress and Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal were part of a six-party opposition alliance that fought the elections together. Congress won 19 seats and Raijor Dal two, with the other allies drawing a blank.
"If Akhil Gogoi had not made the mistake, Sherman Ali Ahmed would have been his MLA today," Sarma said, referring to the expelled Congress leader who won as a TMC candidate after Raijor Dal refused him a ticket owing to the alliance.
On Gogoi being the only opposition MLA to win from a Hindu-majority seat, Sarma said, "It is the people of Sibsagar who decided who will represent them. On my part, it was the only Hindu majority seat where I didn't go to campaign."
"Akhil Gogoi should be kept in the assembly, else he will create chaos on the streets with his protests," Sarma said.
He also claimed that Gogoi had failed to make a single serious speech in the assembly during his first tenure as MLA and dubbed the Raijor Dal president a "comic relief" when the proceedings get dull.
