S. No. S-127 HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT JAMMU CM No. 7818/2025 CM No. 7819/2025 CM No. 6132/2025 CM No. 6133/2025 Reserved on: 23.02.2026 Pronounced on: 27.04.2026 Uploaded on: 27.04.2026 Whether the operative part or full judgment is pronounced: Full Mehraj Din Malik, Age 37 years (Member J&K Legislative Assembly from Doda East) S/o Sh. Shamas Din, R/o Tandla, Tehsil Chilly Pingal, District Doda. Through his father Sh. Shamas Din, Age 65 years, S/o Sh. Abdullah Malik, R/o Tandla, Tehsil Chilly Pingal, District Doda. …..Petitioner(s)

Through: Mr. Rahul Pant, Sr. Advocate Mr. Muzaffar Iqbal Khan, Advocate Mr. S S Ahmed, Advocate Ms. Appu Singh Salathia, Advocate Mr. Tariq Mougal, advocate Mr. Zulkarnain Chowdhary, Advocate Vs

1. Union Territory of J&K through its Principal Secretary, Home Department, Civil Secretariat, Jammu

2. The District Magistrate, Doda.

3. S. Harvinder Singh (IAS), Deputy Commissioner, Doda

4. Senior Superintendent of Police, Doda.

5. Superintendent District Jail, Kathua .…. Respondent(s)

Through: ^{Mrs. Monika Kohli, Sr. AAG} Mr. Sunil Sethi, Sr. Advocate Coram: HON‟BLE MR. JUSTICE MOHD YOUSUF WANI, JUDGE

JUDGMENT

01. Impugned in the instant petition filed under the provisions of Article 226 of the Constitution of India is the order of detention bearing No. PSA 05 of 2025 dated 08.09.2025 issued by the respondent No.2- District Magistrate, Doda (hereinafter referred to as „the Detaining Authority‟) in exercise of his powers under section 8 (1) (a) (ii) of Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 (hereinafter referred to as the PSA for short) whereby the petitioner, namely, Mehraj Din Malik, S/o Sh. Shamas Din, R/o Tandla, Tehsil Chilly Pingal, District Doda has been ordered to be detained and kept in District Jail Kathua with a view to prevent him from acting in any manner pre-judicial to the maintenance of the „Public Order.‟

02. The order impugned has been assailed on the main grounds that the petitioner/detenu is a permanent resident/domicile of the UT of J&K and a citizen of India, thus entitled to invoke the extraordinary writ jurisdiction of this Court for the enforcement of his fundamental rights enshrined in Part- III of the Constitution of India. That he believes in the sovereignty and integrity of India. That he is an educated person with his qualification as M.A, B.Ed. That he represents the most backward constituency of Doda District in the J&K Legislative Assembly and has always been very vociferous concerning the issues pertaining to the general public like poor/inadequate infrastructure in the Education/Health Departments, poor connectivity of roads etc etc. That prior to his being elected as a Member of Legislative Assembly from Doda East Constituency, he was also a member of District Development Council (DDC) from Kahara Constituency and even during his Council Meetings as the then Member DDC, he used to raise the issues of general public importance. That the District Administration, Doda was indifferent to the issues being highlighted by the petitioner/detenue as also slow in implementing the schemes formulated by the Central Government and the Government of Union Territory of J&K.

That the petitioner/detenu has his old parents, wife and four daughters at his home who have been badly suffering on account of his detention.

That a dispute was already going on in the Constituency area of the petitioner between him as an elected representative and the District Administration Doda with regard to a Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Kencha, Tehsil Kahara, District Doda. That the Health Centre was existing earlier in a rented building at Kencha belonging to one Mr. Abdul Rashid S/o Abdul Aziz. That the Health Department had proposed shifting of the hospital building into the house of one Ghulam Ali S/o Abdul Sattar to the disliking of the public. That the petitioner in larger public interest had already approached the Deputy Commissioner, Doda by way of a representation submitting that no such