Northlines Desk
Srinagar, Sep 11: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA) is not enforced anywhere else in the country, while terming the detention of Doda MLA Mehraj Malik under the Act as “wrong and unjustified.”
Omar Talking to reporters here, the Chief Minister said invoking PSA against the MLA was inappropriate. said he met Malik’s father and assured him of full support. Omar said that locking down AAP MP is not good for democracy but will send a wrong message to the public. “Those who are doing all this must correct themselves,” he said.
“I want to advise his party that the PSA law is not enforced anywhere else in the country. If you hire a lawyer from outside, it will take them a long time just to understand this law. I have spoken to a few lawyers. We are ready to extend all possible help,” he said.
The CM added that it would be better to hire a lawyer well-versed with PSA cases. “I, too, had to challenge the PSA against me in 2020,” he recalled. Interestingly, the J&K Public Safety Act 1978 was introduced in Jammu Kashmir by the then Chief Minister and Omar’s Grand Father late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. Unfortunately, whenever such incidents happen, the media tends to call it a claim. But this is not a claim—it is a fact. We didn’t claim we had been locked on July 13; it happened. We didn’t claim we faced highhandedness on July 14, 2025; it seriously happened.”
The Chief Minister further remarked: “Though it is being said that everything is fine in Jammu and Kashmir and a new J&K is emerging, the reality is that a stringent stance is always adopted against us. The law was misused to arrest Mehraj Malik, as there was no reason for it. If someone had issues with his behaviour, they should have approached the Assembly Secretariat and the Speaker instead.”
Context of Preventive Detention Laws
While Omar Abdullah maintained that PSA is exclusive to J&K, legal experts note that preventive detention is not unique to the region. The National Security Act (NSA), 1980 applies across India, and in addition, several states have enacted their own laws.
- Gujarat: Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act, 1985 (PASA)
- Maharashtra: Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug Offenders and Others Act, 1981 (MPDA)
- Tamil Nadu: Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act, 1982
- Karnataka: Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act, 1985
- Andhra Pradesh & Telangana: Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act, 1986
- Kerala: Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 2007 (KAAPA)
- Delhi: Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act, 1985
These laws, like PSA, allow detention without trial for periods ranging from three months to a year, targeting bootleggers, drug traffickers, habitual offenders, and others deemed a threat to public order.
The distinction, however, is that the J&K PSA has historically been used not only against criminal offenders but also against political activists, separatists, and protesters—making it more controversial than its state counterparts.
Difference from J&K PSA:
- PSA was unique as it extended detention powers for political and security-related reasons (including threats to the “security of the State/Union Territory”), not just anti-social crimes.
- Many other state laws are narrower—mainly focused on habitual offenders, organized crime, bootlegging, land grabbing, etc.
