Delhi court allows Engineer Rashid to take oath as MP

NEW DELHI: A court here on Tuesday granted two-hour custody parole to Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid to take oath as a Lok Sabha MP on July 5, subject to some conditions.

Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, was elected from Baramulla seat as an independent candidate defeating National Conference leader Omar Abdullah in the recent Lok Sabha polls. He was arrested in a 2017 Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case.

Rashid had moved the court seeking interim bail, or custody parole in the alterative, to take oath and perform his parliamentary functions.

Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh allowed custody parole for two hours on July 5 to enable him to take oath, subject to a few conditions.

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 he 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, the court said.