Srinagar, Oct 3: Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather on Friday said it would be a welcome step if incarcerated Doda MLA Mehraj Malik attends the upcoming Assembly session, but clarified that the decision rests entirely with the court or the government.
“Malik needs to approach the court, or if the government allows him, he can attend. It depends on whether permission is granted through legal channels,” the Speaker said.
Malik, who represents Doda as the sole Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator in the 90-member Assembly, is currently detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA). The PSA allows detention of individuals for up to two years without judicial trial. Authorities had cited his activities as “detrimental to peace and order” in the district.
In the 2024 elections, Malik created a surprise win for AAP in Doda. Initially, he extended support to the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference (NC) government, but later withdrew it, accusing the ruling coalition of failing to meet its promises to voters.
On a separate matter, Speaker Rather confirmed that the show-cause notice issued against PDP legislator Waheed Parra is still under examination. “Parra has submitted his reply, and the matter is under consideration,” he said.
The Speaker also dismissed Parra’s earlier claim that the Assembly Secretariat had approved the PSA against Malik. “That is misinformation. The Secretariat has no such powers. PSA is imposed by the District Magistrate,” he clarified.
The Speaker further informed that the upcoming session of the J&K Assembly, summoned by the Lt Governor on October 23, will be a short one, with a provisional calendar to be issued soon.
Currently, the Assembly has 47 members from the Kashmir Valley and 43 from the Jammu division.
