Custody Parole Granted for Entire Session from July 20 to August 13; Court Directs MP to Remain Under Armed Police Escort
New Delhi, July 16: A Delhi court on Thursday granted custody parole to jailed Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Engineer Rashid, permitting him to attend the forthcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament in custody on all scheduled sitting days.
The order was passed by Special Judge (NIA) Prashant Sharma while hearing Rashid’s application seeking permission to participate in the parliamentary proceedings. The Monsoon Session of Parliament is scheduled to be held from July 20 to August 13.
Engineer Rashid had approached the court seeking custody parole to enable him to discharge his parliamentary responsibilities as an elected representative during the session.
Allowing the plea, the court directed that the MP be produced before Parliament under custody parole, which requires that a prisoner remain under the supervision and escort of armed police personnel throughout the period of movement outside jail.
Custody parole does not amount to release from judicial custody. Instead, the prisoner is escorted by security personnel to the designated place and returned to jail after the permitted purpose is fulfilled.
Engineer Rashid, who is currently lodged in Tihar Jail in connection with a case being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), will now be allowed to attend the Monsoon Session in custody on all dates of the session, subject to the conditions laid down by the court.
The order enables the Baramulla MP to participate in parliamentary proceedings while continuing to remain in judicial custody.(KNC)
