The Delhi High Court has granted custody parole to a member of the Popular Front of India (PFI), who is currently booked for terror funding, to attend and participate in a religious ceremony for his deceased mother-in-law. Justice Ravinder Dudeja underlined that the right to life, as guaranteed by the Constitution, includes the right to observe religious duties and personal obligations.

The accused, Shahid Nasir, sought custody parole for three days to attend and participate in the Fatiha ceremony. Alternatively, Nasir requested release on bail for one week to spend time with his family. He approached the High Court after a sessions court dismissed his plea. The sessions court had reasoned that his mother-in-law's death occurred approximately two years prior, no prior request for permission had been made, and no material was presented to demonstrate that his personal presence was indispensable for performing the ceremony.

Justice Dudeja, while allowing Nasir's plea, cited the well-settled principle that a prisoner, whether convicted or undertrial, continues to enjoy the protection of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution, except to the extent curtailed by lawful detention.

In a similar case earlier this year, the Delhi High Court granted three-day custody parole to PFI leader OMA Salam to travel to Kerala to perform certain rituals related to his daughter's death. The court allowed him six hours of parole each day, directing him not to use a mobile phone or engage in any public interactions during this period. The expenses for the travel were to be borne by Salam.

Salam, who was arrested in connection with an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case against the proscribed organization and its members, had sought permission to travel to his hometown in Kerala for 15 days to perform the ceremonies. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) opposed Salam's plea, citing him as a security threat whose presence in Kerala would put a "tremendous pressure on the state". The NIA counsel stated that Salam was the chairman of PFI and posed a law-and-order risk, with the alleged aim to spread Sharia law in the country, resulting in widespread violence. Salam's counsel assured the court that he would remain at home or visit his daughter's grave and not interact with anyone else except his family.

These instances highlight the judiciary's recognition of prisoners' rights to fulfill religious and personal obligations, balancing these rights against security concerns and the need to maintain law and order.