Srinagar, April 27: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday described the detention of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Mehraj Malik under the Public Safety Act (PSA) as a “gross misuse of the law” and “totally unjustified,” shortly after the High Court quashed the preventive detention order.
In a strongly worded post on X (formerly Twitter), the Chief Minister stated that the Doda MLA “should never have been detained under PSA; in fact, he should never have been detained at all.”
“He should NEVER have been detained under PSA; in fact, he should never have been detained at all. His detention was a gross misuse of this law and totally unjustified. I hope the people responsible for this detention learn a valuable lesson from the decision of the Hon’ble High Court and reflect on the way these laws are being abused in J&K,” Abdullah posted.
The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on Monday quashed the PSA detention of Mehraj Malik, the AAP legislator from Doda East, who had been under preventive custody in Kathua jail since September 8, 2025. The court allowed his habeas corpus petition, observing that the grounds cited in the detention order pertained more to law-and-order issues rather than threats to public order.
As previously reported by The Chenab Times, the High Court’s order paves the way for Malik’s release, subject to any other pending legal cases against him. Celebrations have been reported in parts of Doda district following the verdict.
Mehraj Malik, who heads the AAP unit in Jammu and Kashmir and is the party’s lone MLA in the region, was detained on allegations of activities prejudicial to public order. The move had drawn criticism from various quarters, including AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who termed it politically motivated.
Reacting to the development, Chief Minister Abdullah’s statement underscores concerns over the repeated invocation of stringent preventive detention laws in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly against elected representatives. He had earlier described the PSA as a “discredited law” and questioned its use against an elected MLA.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
