Jammu and Kashmir High Court quashed Aam Aadmi Party MLA Mehraj Din Malik’s PSA detention as unconstitutional and ordered his release.
AAP MLA Mehraj Malik With Convenor Arvind Kejriwal. (Courtesy: Mehraj Malik’s Facebook page)
In a major relief to Aam Aadmi Party MLA Mehraj Din Malik, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Monday quashed his detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA), ruling that the order was legally unsustainable and violated constitutional safeguards.
Justice Mohd. Yousuf Wani, while allowing a habeas corpus petition, held that the preventive detention order issued by the District Magistrate, Doda, suffered from “non-application of mind” and could not withstand judicial scrutiny.
Malik, who represents the Doda East constituency, had been detained in September 2025 under the PSA on the grounds that his activities were prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.
“That the allegation of violation of Code of Conduct during election cannot be made basis for preventive detention under PSA. That the impugned detention order appears to be outcome of non-application of mind. That the irrelevant material having no nexus or proximity with the object, has been made basis of the impugned detention order,” the judgement read.
The High Court found that the material relied upon by the authorities, including 18 FIRs and 16 Daily Diary Reports (DDRs), did not justify invoking the stringent preventive detention law.
The court noted that several FIRs were stale, some dating back nearly a decade, while others were either under trial, withdrawn, or had resulted in bail. It held that such cases lacked the necessary proximity and relevance to justify detention under the PSA.
Further, the court observed that DDRs, being unverified and lacking evidentiary value, could not form a valid basis for depriving a person of liberty.
‘Law And Order Not Equal To Public Order’: HC
A key finding of the judgment was the failure of the detaining authority to distinguish between “law and order” and “public order”.
The court held that the allegations against Malik, even if accepted, largely pointed to law-and-order issues, which could be addressed through ordinary criminal law, and did not meet the higher threshold required for preventive detention.
The bench also found that Malik was not supplied with all the material relied upon by the authorities, including documents and alleged video evidence, thereby denying him the right to make an effective representation against his detention.
Calling this a violation of Article 22 of the Constitution, the court said such procedural lapses vitiate the detention order.
Another critical ground was the delay in considering MLA’s representation against his detention. The court noted that the representation, submitted on September 20, 2025, was decided only after about 18 days, without a satisfactory explanation.
Relying on settled legal principles, the court held that such a delay is fatal to preventive detention orders.
Detention Termed Punitive, Not Preventive: HC
The High Court further observed that the detention appeared to be punitive in nature, rather than preventive, a misuse of the PSA framework.
It reiterated that preventive detention cannot be used as a substitute for ordinary criminal proceedings or to bypass them.
In view of these findings, the court quashed the detention order dated September 8, 2025, and directed Malik’s release from custody.
Malik’s detention followed a series of incidents in Doda district, including protests linked to a dispute over the shifting of a health facility and allegations of provocative speeches.
The administration had claimed his actions led to public disorder, a charge he denied, while alleging a political vendetta.
Srinagar, India, India
April 28, 2026, 11:08 IST
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