A Delhi court on Tuesday allowed jailed Kashmiri Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, to take the oath of office as a member of Parliament (MP) by granting him custody parole on July 5.
The court granted Rashid custody parole for two hours. These included a custody parole of two hours or till the conclusion of proceedings, whichever was later. The designated time of two hours excluded travel time.
It said Rashid’s wife and children were allowed to be present, on production of identity cards, during the making and subscribing of the oath and that he was not allowed access to a phone and internet.
The court also said Rashid shall not speak to or address the media on any issue, nor would he interact with anyone except the officials concerned. His family was directed to not take photos of the ceremony or post them on social media.
Rashid, who is currently in prison in connection with a 2016 Jammu & Kashmir terror funding case, had approached Delhi’s Patiala House court on June 5 seeking interim bail or custody parole to take oath and perform other ancillary functions as a member of Parliament.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday gave its consent for Rashid to take oath as MP. Order was reserved on the plea on Tuesday on the interim bail plea of Rashid, who won the Lok Sabha Elections from the Baramulla constituency in Jammu and Kashmir.
