Abdul Rashid Sheikh, the elected Member of Parliament from Baramulla who is currently in jail, has sought interim bail to attend the oath ceremony in Parliament. This marks a significant event as it is the first time in decades that a politician elected to Lok Sabha from jail has requested bail to take oath. The last instance of this nature dates back to 1977 when George Fernandes, who was jailed during the Emergency period, had to seek interim bail to attend the oath-taking ceremony.
Mr. Sheikh, who is imprisoned in connection with a terror funding case and has been held in Delhi’s Tihar jail since 2019, contested as an Independent candidate from Baramulla. He secured a notable victory, defeating former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of the National Conference by a substantial margin of over 2 lakh votes.
The plea of Mr. Sheikh for interim bail was heard by Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jeet Singh at Patiala House Courts, who has requested a response from the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The case is scheduled for further hearing tomorrow.
Notably, Mr. Sheikh is one of the two incarcerated politicians who contested and emerged victorious in the recent elections. The other individual is pro-Khalistani separatist Amritpal Singh, who also secured a significant victory in Punjab’s Khadoor Sabhib constituency against his Congress opponent Kulbir Singh Zira.
However, despite their election victories, both Mr. Sheikh and Mr. Singh will have to return to jail after attending the oath ceremony. If they are convicted and sentenced to a jail term of two years or more, they will automatically lose their seats in the Lok Sabha, as per a Supreme Court judgment from 2013.
This development harks back to the period of Emergency in the 1970s, where George Fernandes, despite being incarcerated, contested the general election and emerged victorious from the Muzaffarpur constituency.
In a similar vein, earlier this year, Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh was granted permission to participate in the oath ceremony for Rajya Sabha despite being in jail.
Sources By Agencies