Detained AAP MLA's plea listed for final hearing in J&K HC on Nov 20

Jammu, Nov 07: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has listed a plea filed by detained Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Mehraj Malik for final consideration on November 20, a party spokesperson said after the hearing of the case on Friday.

Malik, who is the AAP's Jammu and Kashmir unit president, was detained under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) on September 8 for allegedly disturbing public order and was subsequently lodged in the Kathua jail. On September 24, Malik filed a habeas corpus petition, challenging his detention and claiming Rs 5 crore as compensation.

"Malik's habeas corpus petition was listed before Justice Rajneesh Oswal of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh at Jammu on Friday. When the matter was taken up for hearing, his legal team vociferously submitted that a reply has not been filed by the government till date and due to the lackadaisical approach, an incumbent MLA is still behind bars and the people of his constituency are suffering," AAP spokesperson Appu Singh Slathia said.

Slathia, who is part of Malik's legal team that also includes senior advocate Rahul Pant, advocates S S Ahmed, M Tariq Mughal and M Zulkarnain Chowdhary, said Senior Additional Advocate General Monika Kohli and senior counsel Sunil Sethi, appearing for the government, submitted that they filed their replies on Thursday but due to a defect in the affidavit, the same is not on record.

In the open court, the respondent's counsel served the copies of the reply to the counsel of the petitioner, Slathia said.

She said the court has directed the registry to place on record the replies filed by the government and asked the government counsel to make the record available on the next date of hearing.

"The matter is kept for final consideration on November 20," the AAP leader said.