The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has set aside the detention of Aam Aadmi Party MLA Mehraj Malik under the Public Safety Act, delivering a major legal reprieve to the legislator from Doda.
The detention order was quashed by Justice Mohd Yousuf Wani after hearing a petition that challenged Malik’s preventive custody. The court observed that the grounds relied upon for invoking the Public Safety Act did not justify continued detention under the law.
Malik had been taken into preventive custody in September last year, becoming the first sitting legislator in Jammu and Kashmir to be booked under the stringent law.
His detention had triggered political debate in the Union Territory, with opposition leaders raising concerns over the use of preventive laws against an elected representative.
The petition against the detention was argued by a team of lawyers comprising Muzaffar Khan and prominent public spirited advocate Sheikh Shakeel besides a group a young advocates.
With the detention order now quashed, Malik is likely to be released after completion of procedural formalities, provided he is not required in any other case.
The ruling is being seen as an important judicial intervention, reinforcing that preventive detention laws must withstand close constitutional scrutiny when applied to public representatives.