Think about 'geographical restriction': Delhi High Court to NIA on jailed J&K MP Engineer Rashid's bail plea

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court, while hearing a bail plea of Baramulla MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid in a terror funding case, on Thursday asked the NIA if it was possible to restrict his movement to one particular geographical area.

Senior counsel for Rashid submitted before a bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Madhu Jain that he has been incarcerated for over six-and-a-half years and during this time, he was granted interim bail on two occasions.

Emphasising that Rashid neither misused the bail conditions nor were there any complaints against him, the senior lawyer said the NIA's apprehension of him influencing witnesses after being released on bail was unfounded.

He further said that Rashid was allowed to attend Parliament in custody.

During the hearing, the bench asked the senior counsel for the NIA to take instructions on limiting Rashid's movement to one particular geographical area in case he was released, considering that he is a parliamentarian.

"Suppose it is something like a geographical restriction. He is a member of Parliament... You can think about it, the court has not given any opinion. Every time it is such a big... I am sure you must be using an armoured vehicle every time he has to attend the Parliament," the bench orally told the agency's senior lawyer.

The NIA's senior counsel said the agency opposed the release of Rashid on bail in the case but he would take instructions on the court's query.

Rashid's counsel stated that initially, the NIA had arrayed 378 witnesses in the trial but subsequently reduced it to 248 witnesses.

The trial, he added, was going to take a substantial time and Rashid ought to be released on bail.

The court would hear the matter next on March 11.

The court was hearing Rashid's appeal challenging a trial court order which refused to grant him bail last year.

On March 21, 2025, the trial court had dismissed Rashid's second regular bail application.

Rashid has been lodged in Tihar jail since 2019 after he was arrested by the NIA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the 2017 terror funding case.

In the appeal against the decision, the J&K MP said he has already spent over five years in custody and the delay in trial, which was unlikely to be concluded soon, entitled him to be released on bail.

The bail plea also contended that the allegations against him were baseless as he was never involved in secessionist and terrorist activities.

"The appellant is a mainstream political leader of J&K having been elected twice as an MLA and recently as an MP. Due to his passionate engagement in mainstream politics, he became a potential target for those who preached separatist ideologies including militant outfits, labelling him as a traitor," it said.

Rashid also sought bail to enable him to attend the Lok Sabha sessions, saying his presence was imperative as he represented 45 per cent of the Kashmir valley and had been "assigned the role to act as a bridge between the Parliament and the people of his constituency".

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.

According to the NIA's FIR, 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 government), and 124A (sedition) of IPC and for offences relating to terrorist acts and terror funding under UAPA.