Chennai: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday condemned the detention of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik under the Public Safety Act (PSA), calling it a misuse of the law.
While acknowledging that complaints may have existed against Malik, Abdullah said resorting to such a stringent law against an elected representative was excessive.
Speaking to reporters, he said, “Law and order and policing are not under the elected government’s purview. Whatever complaints may have existed regarding the MLA’s conduct, using the PSA to detain him is a clear misuse of the law and an excessive application of force against an elected representative.”
Aam Aadmi Party MLA Mehraj Malik, representing Doda constituency, was booked under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, on September 8, with authorities citing activities prejudicial to public order.
The PSA, a preventive detention law, allows officials in Jammu and Kashmir to detain individuals without trial for up to two years in certain cases.
Following Malik’s arrest, prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Surakaksha Sanhita (BNSS) continued in Bhalessa, Doda district, on Friday.
Earlier, National Conference MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi criticized the PSA detention, stating, “This law is meant for terrorists, not for political intimidation. PSA has not been applied to just one person or an MLA—it has been imposed on democracy. Under the BJP regime, the law of the land has been reduced to a joke. Even if the MLA had erred, cases could have been filed under other laws. Detaining an elected representative on vague accusations undermines the very essence of democracy.”
