Satyapal Malik was governor of Bihar, J&K, Goa, Meghalaya.
He was the governor of J&K when Article 370 was revoked.
J&K L-G Manoj Sinha ordered a CBI inquiry against him after a speech.
Satyapal Malik, who started his political career in the seventies, was known for taking on the NDA government. A former member of the BJP, Satyapal served as head of a parliamentary team that looked into the Land Acquisition Bill. His panel opined against the Bill, and the government relegated it to cold storage.
Malik held several senior posts in the National Democratic Alliance government, including serving as the Governor of Bihar in 2017, before being appointed Governor of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2018. It was during his tenure that Article 370 was abrogated. However, many critics argue that due constitutional procedure was not followed when he gave assent to the bill for its abrogation. Malik himself stated in an interview that “I was told a day before that a letter had been sent to me, which I should open in the morning and approve immediately. It was their [the BJP’s] government. Whether they wanted to keep it or remove it, why would I object?”
Critics also said that clause three of Article 370 required concurrence with the state government before any abrogation, and they argued that this requirement was violated during the process.
J&K Governor
Before revoking the special status of J&K, Malik claimed that all was well in the state. “The number of murders witnessed in Patna in a single day is equal to deaths in Kashmir in a week,” he had said.
Prior to the revocation, Malik drew criticism in 2018 after he blamed a state holiday for not receiving PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti’s fax staking claim to form the government. Mufti had faxed a joint letter to the governor’s office to form a coalition government comprising the People’s Democratic Party and the National Conference, aided by the Congress. Despite the claim, Malik dissolved the assembly asserting that he had missed Mehbooba’s faxed letter because nobody was in his office to receive it, as it was a holiday in the state on the occasion of Eid-e-Milad, the birthday of Prophet Muhammad.
Governor of Goa
Tensions between Malik and the Centre commenced in 2020, when he was the Governor of Goa. He started speaking out against the BJP government in the state, led by Pramod Sawant, over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The result? He was transferred the very next month. He later accused the Sawant government of corruption.
While serving as Meghalaya governor, reports of militants targeting civilians had surfaced. He accused the RSS of corruption in J&K and asserted that such incidents never happened during his tenure.
“Two files came before me in J&K. One of them pertained to [industrialist] Ambani, another to a senior RSS functionary. One of the secretaries told me these are fraud files, but he also said you can get Rs 150 crore each in the two deals. I rejected the offer, saying, ‘I have come with five kurtas and will go with them’,” Malik said.
CBI Inquiry
This was the turning point. After his speech, J&K governor Manoj Sinha ordered a CBI inquiry in the matter. The CBI conducted raids at several locations and even questioned Malik in the case. He criticised the central government, alleging that he was being implicated in the case despite bringing alleged corruption to light.
In a post on X, Malik had then said, “The tender they want to implicate me in was one I personally cancelled. I had informed the prime minister about the corruption in that matter, and after informing him, I cancelled that tender myself. After my transfer, that tender was approved with someone else’s signature.”
“My condition is becoming very serious. Whether I survive or not, I want to tell the truth to my fellow countrymen—when I was Governor, I was offered bribes of ₹150 crore, but like my political mentor, the late farmer leader Chaudhary Charan Singh, I worked with honesty, and my integrity could never be shaken,” Malik said.
The case was related to the allocation of Rs 2,200 crore for work under the Kiru Hydroelectric Project.
The Pulwama Controversy
In a high-profile interview in 2023 with Karan Thapar, Malik claimed that Home Ministry officials denied air transport to CRPF personnel, forcing them to take the same road route where the February 2019 Pulwama attack occurred.
“That very same evening I told the Prime Minister that the attack had taken place because of our fault. If we had provided aircraft to the CRPF convoy, this attack could have been avoided. But he asked me to remain silent,” Malik goes on to say.
“Even Ajit Doval, the National Security Advisor, who was once my classmate, told me to remain silent on the issue. I then realised that the onus of the attack will now be shifted to Pakistan,” Malik added.
He went on to criticise the PM, stating that he has no real issue with corruption.
Support for Farmers
During his tenure as the Meghalaya governor, he criticised the government for the three farm laws and warned the government to not provoke the farmers. “None of the laws are in favour of farmers… their salaries go up every three years, but farmers keep becoming poorer.”
At the Global Jat Summit in November 2021, Malik starkly asserted, “You think that they (the farmers) will go away just like that; but give them something before sending them off… don’t use force on them and don’t send them empty-handed.”
The government did not accept his offer to mediate between them and the farmers.
“The country has never seen such a huge protest where 600 people have been martyred. Even if an animal dies, a condolence message is issued by Delhi leaders. But no prastav (motion) is passed over [the death of] 600 farmers.” he had said.
