New Delhi, December 12: A Delhi court is set to determine on December 19 whether the terrorism funding case against Jammu and Kashmir MP Engineer Rashid will be transferred to a special court designated for cases involving lawmakers.
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The scheduled hearing for the case, which was supposed to occur on Thursday, was postponed as the presiding judge was unavailable.
On November 27, the NIA informed Principal District and Sessions Judge Vimal Kumar Yadav that it planned to approach the Delhi High Court to request special powers for the court currently handling the terror-funding case against Rashid.
The District Court is reviewing the matter following a recommendation from a special judge regarding the case’s transfer, as Rashid is currently serving as a member of Parliament.
Previously, both Rashid’s legal counsel and the NIA had mutually requested that the case stay in the current court.
In addition to the NIA’s case, the special judge has also recommended the transfer of a related money laundering case along with Rashid’s bail application to the special court for lawmakers.
Rashid, elected from the Baramulla constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, has been in Tihar Jail since 2019 after his arrest under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act related to a 2017 terror-funding investigation.
Both cases initiated by the NIA and the ED also involve the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba chief and mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Hafiz Saeed, Hizbul Mujahideen leader Syed Salahuddin, and others.
The ED’s money laundering case stemmed from the NIA’s FIR, which accused the defendants of “conspiring to wage war against the government” and inciting unrest in the Kashmir Valley. (Agencies)
