The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Monday quashed the Public Safety Act case against Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Doda East Maharaj Malik, paving the way for his release from jail, where he was lodged since last year on charges of disturbing public order.
Justice Muhammad Yusuf Wani issued the order almost two months after the court reserved its ruling on February 23 on the petition filed by Malik.
“The Supreme Court on Monday struck down the Maharaj Malik Public Service Act. We have won the case,” Malik’s lawyer and AAP spokesperson Abu Singh Salatia said.
“It was a tough journey for all of us but we won. Advocate Rahul Pant and other members of the team fought the case on an objective basis,” she said. Malek’s legal team concluded its arguments on December 18, arguing that the government’s lax approach had kept a member of the Moroccan army behind bars, leaving his constituency without representation.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration invoked the stringent Public Service Act against him for allegedly disturbing public order, following which he was arrested on September 8 and eventually shifted to Kathua jail.
Malik, who is president of the J&K unit of AAP, filed a petition on September 24 last year challenging his detention order passed by the Doda District Magistrate under Section 8 of the J&K Public Safety Act, 1978 and sought $5 Crores as compensation.
The arrest of the AAP MLA was followed by the lodging of an FIR against him for allegedly using abusive language against the then Doda district commissioner Harvinder Singh.
