New Delhi, Feb 4 (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought a response from its registrar general regarding the designation of a court to hear the bail plea of Jammu and Kashmir MP Rashid Engineer in a terror funding case.
Justice Vikas Mahajan issued the notice while hearing Rashid's petition, in which he claimed that his bail application had been left in limbo. The NIA court handling his case refrained from deciding on the matter following his election to the Lok Sabha last year, as it was not designated as a special MP-MLA court.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), opposing Rashid's interim bail request to attend the ongoing Parliament session, argued that he had no inherent "right" to bail simply because he was a parliamentarian. However, the agency's counsel informed the court that the registrar general had approached the Supreme Court seeking clarification on the designation of a competent court to hear such cases.
The court also learned that in November last year, the NIA had made a representation to the registrar general, requesting the designation of the NIA court as a special court for MP/MLA cases. Acknowledging the procedural ambiguity, Justice Mahajan directed, "It is deemed appropriate to issue notice to the registrar general of the court to ascertain the status as regards the administrative order and clarification on the issue. Issue notice." The matter has been scheduled for a hearing on February 6.
In his primary petition, Rashid has urged the high court to either direct the NIA court to expedite its decision on his bail plea or take up the matter itself.
Previously, on December 24, Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh had sought the transfer of the case to a designated court for lawmakers. However, after the district judge returned the case to him, the trial judge ruled that he could only decide on miscellaneous applications and not the bail plea.
The legal impasse has left Rashid Engineer's bail application unresolved, prompting the latest intervention by the Delhi High Court.
