Jammu and Kashmir AAP chief and Doda MLA Mehraj Malik was detained on Monday under the Public Safety Act, marking the first time a sitting MLA has been held under this law.
Malik won the 2024 Assembly elections from Doda, defeating his BJP rival by over 4,500 votes, and had earlier served as a District Development Council member from Kahara.
The PSA allows detention without charge or trial for up to two years, but officials have not specified the reasons for Malik’s detention.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and sitting MLA from Doda, Mehraj Malik, was detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) on Monday, officials confirmed.
According to PTI, this marks the first instance of a sitting legislator in the Union Territory being booked under the stringent PSA, a law that permits detention without charge or trial for up to two years in certain cases.
Malik, who emerged as a prominent political face in the Chenab Valley, registered a significant victory in the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. Contesting on an AAP ticket, he defeated his nearest BJP rival in the Doda constituency by a margin of over 4,500 votes, securing his party’s first-ever win in the Union Territory.
Earlier, as cited by The Hindu, Malik had won the District Development Council (DDC) elections from Kahara constituency in Doda on December 24, 2020. He later resigned from the DDC post after being elected as an MLA in October 2024.
Officials have not disclosed the grounds for Malik’s detention under the P
Peoples Conference President and MLA Handwara Sajad Lone strongly denounced the slapping of the Public Safety Act (PSA) on MLA Mehraj Malik on X, describing it as yet another assault on the democratic fabric of Jammu and Kashmir.
“We strongly condemn the use of the PSA against MLA Mehraj Malik. This is a soulless democracy,” Lone said, stressing that such actions reduce the democratic process to a mere facade.
He noted that the people’s mandate continues to remain powerless despite the conduct of elections.
“The will of the people of J&K continues to be subservient. What is the purpose of holding elections if an elected representative is denied the right to express his sentiments?," he stated.
Lone warned that such measures only deepen the crisis of credibility facing the democratic institutions in the region. “It is a very sad day for an already endangered democracy,” he remarked.
