Delhi HC Awaits NIA's Response in Abdul Rashid's Plea for Terror Case Charges

New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) — The Delhi High Court on Thursday requested the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to present its position on a plea filed by Baramulla MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh, who is challenging the framing of charges against him in a terror funding case.

A bench consisting of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Shalinder Kaur issued a notice to the NIA, permitting the agency to submit its response. The High Court also called for the trial court’s records and scheduled the next hearing for October 6.

Rashid’s regular bail plea related to the case remains pending in the High Court. Earlier, only the issue of a 1,100-day delay in submitting the plea challenging the framing of charges was addressed with a notice to the NIA.

Additionally, Rashid challenged a trial court order requiring him to bear a daily travel expense of Rs 1.44 lakh for attending sessions in custody between July 24 and August 4. He is also seeking interim bail, which was discussed by the bench on Thursday. The division bench suggested these pleas be heard by the same bench that had addressed a similar issue during the Budget session.

The court suggested listing the pleas before a division bench consisting of Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, pending orders from the division bench. On March 25, another division bench, including Justices Chandra Dhari Singh and Justice Bhambhani, directed Rashid to deposit Rs four lakh with prison authorities for his travel to Parliament during the Budget session while “in-custody.”

Rashid has been in Tihar Jail since 2019 following his arrest by the NIA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for a 2017 terror funding case. On March 21, the trial court rejected his second regular bail application.

In his appeal against the decision, Rashid argued that his over five years in custody and the trial's delay, unlikely to conclude soon, entitled him to release on bail. He contended the charges were baseless, asserting he was never involved in secessionist or terrorist activities.

The pleas further stated that as a mainstream political leader in J&K, he had become a target for separatists and claimed that his criticism of government actions and judicial decisions was misinterpreted as associating with terrorists.

Rashid sought bail to attend Lok Sabha sessions, arguing his attendance was vital as he represents 45 percent of the Kashmir valley and has been tasked with bridging Parliament with his constituency. Rashid defeated Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls but faces trial for allegedly funding separatists and terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir.

The NIA's FIR mentioned Rashid's association arose from the interrogation of businessman and co-accused Zahoor Watali. He was chargesheeted in October 2019, and a special NIA court framed charges against him and others in March 2022 under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy, waging war against the government, sedition, and UAPA offenses.

(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)