New Delhi, Jan 24: The Patiala House Court on Saturday allowed jailed Baramulla MP Engineer Abdul Rashid Sheikh to attend the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament by granting him custody parole.
Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Sharma permitted Rashid, currently lodged in Tihar Jail in connection with a terror funding case, to participate in the Lok Sabha proceedings from January 28 onwards while remaining in judicial custody.
The court clarified that the issue of who will bear Rashid’s travel and security expenses during the custody parole will be subject to the final outcome of his pending appeal before the Delhi High Court.
In November 2025, the Delhi High Court delivered a split verdict on Rashid’s plea seeking modification of a condition requiring him to pay nearly Rs 4 lakh towards travel and police deployment expenses for attending Parliament. Justice Vivek Chaudhary rejected the plea, while Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani allowed it, leading to the matter being referred to Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya, the Master of the Roster, for administrative directions.
Rashid’s counsel had argued that imposing daily custodial travel costs, including police personnel salaries, effectively curtailed an elected MP’s right to represent his constituency. The counsel said Rashid was willing to bear reasonable expenses but objected to the inclusion of police salaries, citing Delhi Prison Rules.
The Delhi Police, however, defended the cost calculation, stating that it covered deployment, logistics and security arrangements required for escorting an undertrial MP to Parliament.
Engineer Rashid, chief of the Jammu and Kashmir Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Tihar Jail and defeated National Conference vice-president and former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah by over two lakh votes. Rashid continues to remain in judicial custody in the terror funding case. (Agencies)
