Srinagar, Feb 12: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is set to continue hearing next week the petition filed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Mehraj Malik challenging his detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA), a law that has often drawn political and legal debate in the Union Territory.
The matter came up before Justice Mohammad Yousuf Wani on Thursday, where arguments were advanced by senior state counsels Sunil Sethi and Monica Kohli. The court had previously heard part of the submissions from the government side during the last hearing, and the proceedings are now scheduled to resume on February 19.
Advocate Appu Singh Slathia, representing the petitioner, informed reporters that the court has fixed the next date for further arguments, indicating that the case is progressing through detailed judicial examination. The petition seeks quashing of the detention order issued against Malik under the PSA, contending that the grounds cited do not justify preventive detention.
Mehraj Malik, who represents the Doda constituency in the Legislative Assembly, was detained in September last year under the Public Safety Act. The PSA permits preventive detention without trial for specified periods on grounds related to security and public order. His detention had triggered political reactions, with the Aam Aadmi Party terming the move unjustified and subsequently challenging it before the High Court.
The ongoing proceedings are expected to examine the legal validity of the detention order, procedural compliance, and the sufficiency of grounds invoked under the PSA framework. The case has drawn attention given Malik’s status as a sitting legislator and the broader debate surrounding the use of preventive detention laws.
With arguments still underway, the High Court’s upcoming hearing is likely to focus on completing the state’s submissions before proceeding further in the matter. The outcome will have significant legal and political implications, particularly in the context of preventive detention jurisprudence in Jammu and Kashmir.
The case now awaits the next hearing on February 19, when the court is expected to continue deliberations on the plea challenging the detention.