Malik, the MLA from the Doda (East) Assembly constituency, was detained under the PSA on 8 September on the orders of the District Magistrate, Doda, under Section 8 of the J&K Public Safety Act, 1978.
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Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on Wednesday admitted the Habeas Corpus petition filed by AAP MLA Mehraj Malik, seeking the quashing of his detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
Malik, the MLA from the Doda (East) Assembly constituency, was detained under the PSA on 8 September on the orders of the District Magistrate, Doda, under Section 8 of the J&K Public Safety Act, 1978.
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After hearing Senior Advocate Rahul Pant along with Advocates S.S. Ahmed, Appu Singh Slathia, M. Zulkarnain Chowdhary, and Joginder Singh Thakur, Justice Koul also issued post-admission notices to the Principal Secretary, J&K Home Department; District Magistrate, Doda; SSP, Doda; and Superintendent, District Jail, Kathua.
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These notices were accepted in open court by Senior Additional Advocate General Monika Kohli, appearing for the Government of J\&K.
The Court granted time to the Senior AAG to file the response by the next hearing date, 14 October, and also issued notice to the private respondent, S. Harvinder Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Doda.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Rahul Pant and his team emphasized the urgency of the matter, noting that the detenu is an elected representative who is currently detained and required by the public to perform official duties. They requested the shortest possible time be granted to the respondents to file their response.
In his petition, Malik has challenged the Preventive Detention Order issued by the District Magistrate, Doda, citing “personal bias” and has also claimed Rs. 5 crore in compensation for the curtailment of his personal liberty.
The case, considered to be of wide public importance, will next be heard by the Bench on 14 October.
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