SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has directed the government to consider AAP MLA from Doda Mehraj Malik’s plea seeking restoration of his security cover by placing his case before the Security Review Coordination Committee (SRCC) to assess his threat perception and ensure appropriate security arrangements within six weeks.
The AAP MLA, who was arrested in September last year after being booked under the stringent Public Safety Act and released on April 28 this year after a court quashed his PSA detention, has moved the High Court to get his security cover back.
Mehraj has claimed that he is the only MLA among 90 legislators in J&K, whose security has been taken away in a sensitive militancy-affected J&K and is travelling without a security escort.
According to the AAP MLA, security must be based on threat perception, not political perception.
High Court Justice Sanjay Dhar while hearing his petition, has directed that respondents should consider the representation already made by the petitioner in accordance with the law and take a decision thereon.
The court, while disposing of the petition, directed the respondents to place the case of the petitioner before the Security Review Coordination Committee (SRCC) to assess the threat perception and thereafter make arrangements for an appropriate level of security in his favour, expeditiously, within a period of six weeks.
Senior Additional Advocate General (AAG) Monika Kohli appeared for the State while advocate Appu Singh Slathia represented Malik.
The MLA Mehraj Malik in his petition, has informed the High Court that since April 28, 2026 the security cover provided to him has been reduced without any proper consideration, and his escort vehicle has also been withdrawn.
Reacting to the court order, Mehraj said court is the only way to get justice now and 6 weeks’ time has been given to the Home and Police department.
“This is the democracy in J&K where an elected representative has to approach courts to get equal treatment as other MLA’s. All the MLAs have escorts except me,” he said.
