Govt Raises Concern Over Yasin Malik’s Appearance In SC: Here's Why

Expressing displeasure over the personal appearance of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik, the Supreme Court on Friday questioned why he was brought to court when no such order was passed.

The Central government also expressed concern over the physical appearance of Yasin Malik, in the apex court.

Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta wrote to Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Friday flagging a "serious security lapse" after Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik, serving life term in Tihar jail, was brought to the Supreme Court for attending a case proceeding.

"It is my firm view that this is serious security lapse. A person with terrorist and secessionist background like Yasin Malik who is not only a convict in terror funding case but has known connections with terror organisations in Pakistan could have escaped, could have been forcibly taken away or could have been killed," Mehta wrote.

He said that even the security of the Supreme Court would have been put to a serious risk if any untoward incident were to happen. Mehta highlighted that there is an order passed by the Ministry of Home Affairs with regard to Malik under section 268 of the Criminal Code of Procedure which prevents the jail authorities to bring the said convict out of the jail premises for security reasons.

"In any view of the matter so long as the order under section 268 of CrP Code subsists, jail authorities had no power to bring him out of jail premises nor did they have any reason to do so," he said, adding, "I consider this to be a matter serious enough to once again bring it to your personal notice so that suitable action/steps can be taken at your end."

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju informed the bench that Malik was brought out of jail carelessly by the jail authorities due to a misinterpretation of the top court's order.

Malik appeared in the top court when a bench headed by Justice Surya Kant was hearing an appeal filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the September 20, 2022 order of a trial court in Jammu in the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of then Union home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

The CBI has appealed against the Jammu court order directing that Malik be produced before it physically on the next date of hearing so that he can be given an opportunity to cross-examine the witnesses of the prosecution in the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case.