The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has mobilized a 10-member legal team today, September 15, 2025, to contest the Public Safety Act (PSA) detention of its lone J&K MLA, Mehraj Malik, arrested on September 8 in Doda for allegedly inciting public disorder. The team, led by national figures including Sanjay Singh, will approach the Jammu and Kashmir High Court and potentially the Supreme Court, arguing the detention—under a law allowing two-year preventive custody without trial—is “politically motivated” to suppress opposition voices. Malik, 37, faces a 250-page dossier citing his “provocative Facebook Lives” and speeches that “misled youth,” amid an FIR for abusive language toward officials.
Protests have intensified, with over 100 supporters detained since the arrest, including 80 in Doda and Bhalessa, leading to Section 144 impositions and internet suspensions affecting 1.5 million users. AAP claims the move targets their growing influence, having won Doda in the 2024 Assembly polls by 4,538 votes against BJP’s Gajay Singh Rana—their first seat in J&K. J&K’s youth unemployment at 23% (CMIE 2025 data) fuels unrest, with Malik’s advocacy for flood-hit areas (displacing 15,000 families) resonating in a district where literacy is 60%, below the national 77%.
Peoples Conference leader Sajad Gani Lone demanded probes into recent Assembly attacks, while Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned PSA as a “discredited tool,” eroding democratic trust—used against 1,200 people annually in J&K. The case echoes 2024’s 300 PSA detentions, 40% against politicians. AAP vows street protests and parliamentary fights, with national convenor Arvind Kejriwal calling Malik the “lion of AAP.” As Doda grapples with 12,000 km of damaged roads from August floods, this standoff risks further instability in a region with 68% Muslim population and ongoing recovery costing ₹1,200 crore.