A Delhi court has granted jailed Jammu and Kashmir MP Engineer Rashid permission to vote in the upcoming Vice Presidential election scheduled for September 9, 2025. Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit of the Patiala House Court issued the order on September 4, 2025, allowing Rashid to cast his vote in custody.

Engineer Rashid, who represents the Baramulla constituency, is currently lodged in Tihar Jail since 2019. He was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with a 2017 terror funding case. Despite these charges, he contested and won the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, defeating Omar Abdullah.

Rashid had approached the Special NIA Court at Patiala House seeking permission to vote, as voting in the Vice-Presidential election requires in-person participation. The NIA did not oppose Rashid's plea to visit Parliament to vote. However, the agency argued that Rashid should bear the expenses for his travel and security arrangements.

The court has clarified that Rashid is not required to make any immediate payment for travel expenses. He must, however, provide an undertaking to cover the costs later, depending on the outcome of pending appeals before the Delhi High Court. These appeals concern an order requiring him to pay several lakhs of rupees for travel expenses incurred during a previous custody parole to attend Parliament.

Earlier this year, Rashid was also granted parole to attend the Monsoon Session of Parliament. He had previously argued that while he was allowed to campaign for elections without objection, he was being hindered from fulfilling his constitutional duties as an MP.

In March 2022, a special NIA court framed charges against Rashid and others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including criminal conspiracy, waging war against the government, and sedition, as well as offences related to terrorist acts and terror funding under the UAPA. According to the NIA's FIR, Rashid's name surfaced during the interrogation of businessman Zahoor Watali, a co-accused in the terror funding case.