New Delhi, Nov 14: The Delhi High Court on Friday said it would hold a preliminary hearing on January 14 on a plea by jailed Jammu and Kashmir MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh challenging an order requiring him to pay approximately ₹4 lakh for attending Parliament while in custody.
The matter was listed before Justice Ravinder Dudeja by the chief justice after a split verdict from a division bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Anup Jairam Bhambhani. Rashid had sought modification of a March 25 order that mandated the deposit, with the judges divided over whether he should bear full travel costs, including police escorts.
Justice Bhambhani had ruled that Rashid, as an elected MP, owes a duty to represent constituents and should only pay transportation costs for travel between jail and Parliament. Justice Chaudhary, however, held that attendance in Parliament cannot be treated as an emergency like death, marriage, or serious illness in the family, and rejected the plea.
The case arose after the State demanded Rashid pay ₹1.45 lakh per day for travel and custody arrangements. Justice Bhambhani clarified that costs should cover only jail van and escort vehicle expenses, around ₹1,036 and ₹1,020 per day respectively.
Rashid, who defeated Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, has been lodged in Tihar Jail since 2019 following his arrest in a 2017 terror funding case. Charges framed against him include Sections 120B, 121, 124A of IPC, and offences under the UAPA relating to terror funding and aiding separatists in Jammu and Kashmir.
The January hearing will decide whether Justice Dudeja should adjudicate the plea or refer it to a larger bench, as stipulated under Section 433 of the BNSS Act in cases of a split verdict. (Agencies)
