Jammu: An application of detained Aam Aadmi Party MLA Mehraj Malik seeking permission to participate in the ongoing assembly session was adjourned on Monday by the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh till October 30, a day before the autumn session is scheduled to end.
The lawyers of Malik, the president of the J-K unit of AAP who was detained under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) on September 8 and is presently lodged in Kathua jail, had sought an urgent hearing.
Justice Mohammad Yusuf Wani heard the application filed by Malik for permission to participate in the ongoing assembly session in Srinagar, a spokesperson of the AAP said.
The nine-day autumn session of the J&K assembly, which started on October 23, is scheduled to end on October 31 (Friday).
“Senior advocate Rahul Pant, with advocates S S Ahmed, Appu Singh Slathia and M Zulkarnain Chowdhary, emphatically put forth that the application is required to be considered today itself due to the urgency involved in the matter,” he said,
Senior Additional Advocate General Monika Kohli and senior advocate Sunil Sethi appeared for the government and apprised the court that they have filed the reply to the application.
After considering the submissions made by both parties, the court adjourned the matter till October 30.
The main matter related to the detention of the legislator under the PSA is listed on November 7.
The J&K Assembly on Monday witnessed heated exchanges over the issue of Malik’s detention, after NC MLA from Banihal, Sajjad Shaheen, demanded a one-hour discussion.
However, BJP MLA from Udhampur East, R S Pathania, said invoking PSA is a district magistrate’s prerogative. This led to protests from many members in the treasury benches, and the lone Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) MLA from Langate, Sheikh Khursheed.
Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather rose from his chair, directing the members to take their seats.
Independent MLA from Shopian, Shabir Kullay, protested and tried to enter the well of the House.
However, the Speaker said nobody will enter the well, asking the members to keep the decorum of the House.
“Let him (Pathania) speak even if you don’t like what he says,” the Speaker added, and allowed the BJP MLA to continue.
Pathania said an issue that is pending adjudication before the court of law cannot be discussed in the House.
Responding to this, NC MLA from Gurez, Nazir Ahmad Khan Gurezi, asked, “Will this state be run by DCs?”
A person can be booked under the PSA with an administrative order passed either by the divisional commissioner (DC) or the district magistrate (DM).
“If Malik had done something anti-national, we never supported it and will never support it. (But), can a DC send anyone to jail? Today, it is Malik; tomorrow, it can be anybody. It can be you. This House is supreme. We can discuss the issue,” Gurezi said.
He also demanded that a committee be formed to probe whether Malik warranted the detention.
People’s Conference (PC) MLA from Handwara, Sajad Lone, called PSA a “black law”.
“PSA against Malik is unjustified,” Lone added.
Amidst the din, Speaker Rather said if anything is pending before the court of law, “it cannot be allowed (to be discussed) in the House”.
The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act is a preventive detention law that allows the state government to detain a person for up to two years without a trial.
