Overview

• A division bench of the Delhi High Court reserved its ruling on Rashid’s plea to ease the March 25 condition that he deposit about Rs 4 lakh for custody parole expenses.
• Additional Public Prosecutor Ritesh Bahari told the bench that 15 Delhi Armed Police officers would be needed for the escort under a notification allowing police to recover such costs.
• Rashid’s lawyers argued that Delhi Prison Rules do not authorize recovery of police salaries as travel expenses and that he can only be expected to cover incidental costs such as meals.
• Senior counsel Siddharth Luthra for the National Investigation Agency opposed any modification, stressing that the cost provision stemmed from a consented order granting custody parole rather than interim bail.
• Engineer Rashid has been held in Tihar Jail since his 2019 arrest in a 2017 terror-funding case and has already been charged approximately Rs 17 lakh in travel expenses for prior parliamentary attendances.