Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front leader Yasin Malik appears in person sans orders, Supreme Court shocked

New Delhi, July 21

The Supreme Court (SC) was on Friday shocked to see Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Yasin Malik appearing before it as there was no order passed by it seeking his appearance in person.

The Delhi Prisons Department said there was “prima facie lapse” on the part of some officials. The DG (Prisons) has ordered an inquiry into the security lapse.

A special court in Jammu had in September last year sought Malik’s appearance for cross-examination of witnesses in connection with the 1989 abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed. The Supreme Court had in April stayed the orders requiring his physical presence. He is also accused of killing four IAF personnel in 1990. Acting on the CBI’s appeal on April 24 against the Jammu court order, the top court had issued notices following which Malik, serving life term in Tihar Jail following his conviction in a terror-funding case, wrote to the court registrar on May 26 seeking permission to appear in person to plead his case. An assistant registrar took up his request on July 18 and said the top court would pass necessary orders, a decision the jail authorities apparently misconstrued that Malik had to be presented to argue his case.

As a Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Dipankar Datta expressed surprise over Malik’s physical appearance, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said there was no such order passed by the top court. Justice Datta chose to recuse from hearing.

Later, the Solicitor General wrote to Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla highlighting the “serious security lapse”. “A person with terrorist and secessionist background like Yasin Malik, who is not only a convict in a terror-funding case but has known connections with terror organisations in Pakistan, could have escaped, could have been forcibly taken away or killed,” Mehta wrote.