Justice Mohammad Yousuf Wani of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh high court on Monday quashed the Public Safety Act (PSA) detention of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik.
The Doda East legislator and AAP’s Jammu and Kashmir unit president had been detained since September 8 last year for allegedly disturbing public order and was subsequently lodged in Kathua jail.
Following the ruling, Malik’s counsel and AAP spokesperson, Appu Singh Salathia, said the judgment bolstered her faith in the judiciary. She credited the legal victory to a team effort led by advocate Rahul Pant, noting that the case was fought strictly on its merits.
The court had previously reserved its order on February 23 regarding the habeas corpus petition, which Malik filed on September 24 to challenge his detention and seek ₹5 crore in compensation.
Malik’s legal team argued that the government’s approach had left a sitting MLA behind bars, causing the people of his constituency to suffer.
The MLA had specifically sought the quashing of the detention order issued by the Doda district magistrate under Section 8 of the J&K Public Safety Act. During proceedings, the state was represented by counsels Sunil Sethi and Monica Kohli.
The administration’s decision to invoke the PSA followed an FIR alleging Malik used abusive language against then Doda district commissioner Harvinder Singh, an IAS officer recently honoured by President Droupadi Murmu.
{{/usCountry}}The administration’s decision to invoke the PSA followed an FIR alleging Malik used abusive language against then Doda district commissioner Harvinder Singh, an IAS officer recently honoured by President Droupadi Murmu.
{{/usCountry}}The authorities also cited Malik’s involvement in 18 FIRs and 16 daily diary reports across various police stations.
Despite these allegations, Malik remains a significant political figure in the region, having defeated his BJP rival, Gajay Singh Rana, by 4,538 votes last year to secure AAP’s first-ever assembly seat in the Union Territory.