2 min readJammuApr 27, 2026 08:55 PM IST
The J&K and Ladakh High Court on Monday quashed the detention of Doda AAP MLA Mehraj Malik, who has been in Kathua jail for around seven months.
Justice Mohammad Yusuf Wani ordered the government to release Malik if he was not wanted in any other case.
On September 24 last year, days after he was detained, Malik had filed a petition not only challenging his detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA), but also seeking compensation of Rs 5 crore. The court had reserved its verdict in the matter on February 23.
AAP spokesperson Appu Singh Slathia said on Monday, “The court has pronounced its judgment in Mehraj Malik’s case. His PSA has been quashed.” The spokesperson added that the judgment “bolsters our faith in the judiciary”.
Malik was the first sitting MLA in Jammu and Kashmir to have been detained under the PSA. His detention was condemned by political leaders from all parties, except for the BJP, which had termed Malik a “repeat offender”.
Following his arrest last year, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal had taken to social media, asking, “Is demanding a hospital for the people such a grave crime that an elected MLA has been thrown in jail for it? Mehraj Malik is a lion of the AAP. He will always fight as the voice of the people for their rights. Jail, threats, and conspiracies can never intimidate any soldier of AAP.”
At the time, National Conference leader and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the PSA as a “discredited law”, adding that “there is no justification for detaining Mehraj Malik under the PSA. He’s not a threat to ‘public safety’ and using this discredited law to detain him is wrong. If the unelected government can use its powers against an elected representative like this, then how does anyone expect the people of J&K to continue to have faith in democracy?”
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The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had also condemned the arrest, with MLA Waheed Para saying laws such as the PSA are “weaponised to silence people”.
