The Delhi High Court on Tuesday modified the terms of interim bail granted to jailed Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid, allowing him to meet his hospitalised father at AIIMS, New Delhi, for fixed hours each day under police supervision.
A Division Bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Madhu Jain directed that Rashid be escorted from jail to the hospital for 12 hours daily until May 10, after which he will remain in custody.
The order revised the court’s April 28 direction granting him one-week interim bail. Rashid had moved the Bench seeking modification after his father was shifted from Srinagar to Delhi, as the earlier relief restricted him to Srinagar during the bail period.
“Since the appellant’s father is already in AIIMS Delhi and the intention of the order dated April 28 was for the appellant to spend time with his father, the order is modified to the effect that the appellant be permitted to meet his father from 8 am to 8 pm on a daily basis till the 10th of May,” the court said.
“After the time elapses, the appellant shall continue to be lodged in jail,” it added.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate N Hariharan, appearing for Rashid, submitted details of a rented accommodation in Delhi. The court, however, declined to accept the arrangement, observing that the address was neither linked to a family member nor to a known associate and could not be verified at this stage.
Considering the medical condition, the Bench permitted daily visits but directed that Rashid would remain in custody throughout. It ordered that at least two plainclothes police personnel accompany him and stay outside the hospital ward during the meetings.
The court also clarified that all other conditions imposed in its earlier order would remain in force.
Rashid, elected from Baramulla in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, has been in jail since 2019 following his arrest by the National Investigation Agency under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with a 2017 terror-funding case.
His regular bail plea was rejected by the trial court on March 21, 2025. A subsequent interim bail application citing his father’s medical condition was also dismissed on April 24, with the trial court noting allegations that he had attempted to influence witnesses, including a protected witness. He subsequently challenged that order before the High Court.
