Omar Abdullah slams 'gross misuse of law' in AAP MLA's detention

J&K CM Omar Abdullah called AAP MLA Mehraj Malik's detention a 'gross misuse of law' after the High Court quashed the PSA case. Abdullah said he should never have been detained. The court ordered Malik's release from jail.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday termed the detention of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik a "gross misuse of law." He praised the High Court verdict after it quashed the Public Safety Act (PSA) case against him, saying that AAP MLA should never have been detained in the first place.

"He should NEVER have been detained under PSA; in fact, he should never have been detained at all. His detention was a gross misuse of this law & totally unjustified. I hope the people responsible for this detention learn a valuable lesson from the decision of the High Court & reflect on the way these laws are being abused in J&K," he wrote.

Legal Proceedings Detailed

Advocate Zulkarnain Chowdhary elaborated on the case. He said that the case was initially being held at the Jammu bench in the High Court of Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh and was later transferred to Kashmir.

"An elected representative was booked under the Public Safety Act. He was detained on September 8, 2025. The dossier was submitted by SSP Doda, and the final detention order was passed by the Doda Deputy Commissioner. Then we challenged this detention at the Jammu bench in the High Court of Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh. The proceedings kept ongoing here. But, as soon as the case was almost completed, the judge was transferred to Kashmir. We had to go to Kashmir to hear this case," he said.

Chowdhary noted that the Court agreed to the grounds raised in the petition during the argument, stating that this is not a case where it can curtail the personal liberty of a legal representative. The detention order was quashed, and the Court ordered the release of Malik from jail.

Malik was detained amid allegations related to public order and security concerns after the Jammu and Kashmir authorities invoked the Public Safety Act against him in 2025. (ANI)

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