Following his release from Kathua jail, Jammu and Kashmir AAP MLA Mehraj Malik called the development just a “matter of time”, adding that thousands of people like him are in jails.
Addressing reporters, Malik said that speaking against the BJP in the country is as difficult as speaking against US for the BJP. “Sara khel waqt ka hai…Thousands like me are behind bars. It was not Mehraj who was jailed, but it was the aspirations and hopes of the people which were captive. Like the BJP cannot speak against America, the same way speaking against the BJP in the country is difficult,” he told reporters.
Malik was released from the Kathua Jail on Tuesday after the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court quashed the Public Safety Act (PSA) case against him.
Malik was welcomed with joy by his supporters.
On Monday, Advocate Zulkarnain Chowdhary said that the High Court set aside the detention order passed by the Deputy Commissioner.
Advocate Chowdhary told ANI, “A sitting legislator and elected representative of Jammu and Kashmir was booked under the Public Safety Act and detained on September 8, 2025. We then challenged this detention in the Jammu Bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh. It has been almost two months since this case was scheduled for a decision. This decision came out, and the court said that the detention order passed by the Deputy Commissioner is set aside, quashed by the Court, and it is illegal. Taking all those grounds into consideration, the court has quashed the detention order. This final decision has come after concluding all the proceedings of this case from beginning to end.”
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal had criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that he turns into a “bheegi billi” in front of US President Donald Trump, but throws opposition leaders in jail on false allegations.
In a post on X, Kejriwal said, “Prime Minister Modi will have to answer for this. The man who turns into a ‘bheegi billi’ (drenched cat) in front of Trump throws opposition leaders into jail on false cases. Modi ji, if you have the guts, then say just one word to Trumpshow it. Otherwise, the country will understand that he is the weakest and most cowardly Prime Minister in India’s history,” he wrote.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also termed the detention of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik a “gross misuse of law”.