MP Engineer Rashid’s interim bail extended till October 28; Court should also grant bail to ordinary accused, says Sajad Lone
A Delhi court on Tuesday extended the interim bail of Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) supremo and Baramulla MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, in a terror-funding case till October 28.
Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh passed the order on the ground of the health condition of Rashid’s father, after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said it had verified the documents and was not opposing the application.
The judge also deferred the order on Rashid’s regular bail plea in the case till October 28. The counsel for the accused told the court that this was the last time that his client was seeking an extension. No violation of any of the conditions by his client was alleged by the NIA, the lawyer said.
Meanwhile, in Srinagar AIP chief spokesperson Inam Un Nabi said he hoped that Rashid “would get regular bail soon.” Rashid was released ahead of the first phase of elections in Jammu and Kashmir on September 11 after a Delhi court granted interim bail for campaigning during the Assembly polls.
When Rashid was released last month, the AIP had claimed that it would change the dynamics of Kashmir politics. However, his campaign during the elections failed to create a similar wave like during the LS polls, when Rashid had defeated Omar Abdullah from Baramulla and the AIP had secured a lead in 15 of 18 Assembly segments. This time, however, the AIP won only a single seat in Kashmir.
The opponents have accused Rashid of being a BJP proxy, stating that he had been sent out of jail to divide votes. Rashid, however, has denied the charge.
Meanwhile, People’s Conference president Sajad Gani Lone on Tuesday said the courts should grant bail to ordinary accused persons as they are doing in case of Baramulla Lok Sabha member Sheikh Abdul Rashid.
“My hand-folded requests to the court in Delhi. Please can you show the same magnanimity in extending bail or giving bail as you are showing in the case of a VIP accused. A serving MP,” Lone posted on X.
He was commenting on a Delhi court extending interim bail to Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, who is an accused in a terror funding case, till October 28. “Two people died in jail in similar or same cases. No bail was granted. Most of the other accused are old, have multiple diseases. And they too need some relief. “They have families too. They have domestic issues too. They are humans too,” Lone said.
The MLA-elect from Handwara said the onus of measuring up to the highest judicial standards and fairness falls on the courts in question and the investigating agencies.
“Similar magnanimity needs to be replicated by the courts. The investigation agencies are not contesting the extension of bail. They need to show similar compassion for other accused,” he said, adding, “Let there be no two sets of rules. Let the same rules apply to all.”
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