J&K High Court to Hear Detained AAP MLA Mehraj Malik’s Plea on November 20

Jammu, Nov 7: The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has scheduled the final hearing of a petition filed by detained Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and J&K unit president Mehraj Malik for November 20, a party spokesperson said on Friday.

Malik was detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) on September 8 for allegedly disrupting public order and has since been lodged in Kathua jail. On September 24, he filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention and sought ₹5 crore in compensation.

AAP spokesperson Appu Singh Slathia, who is part of Malik’s legal team, said the matter came up before Justice Rajneesh Oswal. “During the hearing, our counsel argued that despite repeated opportunities, the government has not filed its response, leaving an elected MLA unlawfully detained while his constituency remains unrepresented,” Slathia stated.

She added that Senior Additional Advocate General Monika Kohli and senior counsel Sunil Sethi, representing the government, informed the court that their reply had been filed on Thursday but was not officially recorded due to a defect in the affidavit. Copies of the government’s response were handed over to Malik’s legal team in open court.

The court directed the registry to formally place the government’s reply on record and instructed the state counsel to present all relevant documents during the next hearing.

“The case will now be taken up for final consideration on November 20,” Slathia confirmed.