The Delhi High Court on Monday granted an interim bail to jailed Baramulla Member of Parliament (MP) Abdul Rashid Sheikh alias Engineer Rashid till June 2 to attend the burial and last rites rituals of his father. .Rashid is presently in jail on terror funding allegations.His father passed away in the early hours of the day at AIIMS, Delhi. The MP, therefore, urged the High to grant him interim bail to attend his father's funeral.The interim bail application was mentioned today before the Bench of Justice Prathiba Singh and Justice Madhu Jain. The Court proceeded to allow his release on interim bail till June 2. The Court also directed that during the interim bail period, Rashid shall always be accompanied by at least two police officials in plain clothes..Rashid is currently in Tihar Jail as an accused in a terror funding case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). He was arrested in 2019 and has been in jail since then.He won the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat in 2024 Lok Sabha polls by defeating current Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah by over two lakh votes. A special NIA court framed charges against him in March 2022 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the UAPA, including criminal conspiracy, waging war against the state and terror funding. He has challenged that order before the High Court..On April 28, Rashid was granted interim bail by the High Court to visit his ailing father in Srinagar. However, due to worsening health conditions, his father was airlifted to AIIMS, Delhi. Rashid’s bail conditions were, therefore, modified by the High Court on May 5 to allow him to visit his father in Delhi.His father's condition deteriorated further on the intervening night between May 17 and 18, leading to his death earlier today. The Court has now granted Rashid two weeks of interim bail to attend his father's funeral and final rites. .Advocates Vikhyat Oberoi, Nishita Gupta, Ravi Sharma and Shivam Prakash appeared for Rashid.Special Public Prosecutor Akshai Malik, Ayush Agarwal and Khawar Salem appeared for NIA..[Read order]
