J&K High Court seeks govt’s response on Doda MLA’s plea to attend House, vote in RS elections

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has directed the Union Territory government to file a response by October 18 on an application filed by Doda MLA Mehraj Malik, who is currently detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA), seeking permission to attend the upcoming Assembly session and vote in the Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for October 24.

The High Court also granted time to the government to submit its reply in the main habeas corpus petition by or before November 7.

Justice Sanjay Dhar, while hearing the matter, issued directions to the government after Malik’s legal counsel submitted that the detenue is seeking interim relief to participate in legislative proceedings and exercise his right to vote in the Rajya Sabha elections.

The petition, along with the applications, was taken up for hearing today, during which Malik’s lawyers highlighted that the government had yet to file a response in the main petition. They argued that the applications are of an urgent nature, as they concern the detenue’s right to attend the Assembly session and vote—both of which are time-bound events.

The government counsels requested additional time to file replies in both the interim applications and the main habeas corpus petition.

After hearing submissions from both sides, Justice Dhar granted the UT administration time until October 18 to file a reply in the interim application and until November 7 to respond to the main petition.