A division bench of the Delhi High Court on Friday passed a split judgment on the writ petition of the jailed Jammu and Kashmir MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh, better known as Rashid Engineer, who wanted exemption on the fares he was paying to travel to Parliament to attend parliamentary sessions.
Anup Jairam Bhambhani, and Vivek Chaudhary, who were the justices that heard the case, disagreed on the way the application should be disposed of. My brother (Justice Vivek Chaudhary) and I have failed to reach the agreement regarding how the application would be disposed of. These are divergent observations and I pronounce the conviction, Justice Bhambhani said. Justice Chaudhary also indicated that Justice Bhambhani had granted the application, but he had himself denied the application.
When the judges gave conflicting opinions, the bench referred the case to the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court to constitute a proper bench. An elaborate copy of the judgment is expected.
Rashid Engineer, an Independent MP, and the president of the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), has been since 2019 incarcerated, having been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). NIA accused him and other individuals of engaging in the utilization of illegal finances in instigating unrest and encouraging separatism in Jammu and Kashmir.
In his petition, Rashid appealed against the July 22 decision in the trial court that granted him permission to go to the monsoon session of the Parliament between July 24 and August 4 on the basis that he would incur all the travel and security costs in jail. In his argument, Rashid said that the jail authorities had fixed a bill of 1.44 lakh per day on conveyance and security and this was something that did not help him to carry out his duty as a Member of Parliament.
In response to the plea, the NIA insisted that exemption on such costs could not be justified by the fact that the case was in the interest of the people, and such conditions imposed by the trial court were reasonable and just.
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