18/10/2025
JAMMU //
18th October 2025
In a significant development, the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court at Jammu today took up the application filed by Mehraj Malik, seeking permission to cast his vote in the upcoming Rajya Sabha election and to participate in the forthcoming Assembly session.
The case was heard by Justice Rajesh Sekhri, who recorded the statement of the J&K Government ensuring that the detenue will be allowed to cast his vote in the Rajya Sabha election scheduled for October 24, 2025.
Senior Advocate Rahul Pant, assisted by Advocates S.S. Ahmed, Muzaffar Iqbal Khan, Appu Singh Slathia, Tariq Mughal, and M. Zulkarnain Chowdhary, appeared for the applicant. They emphasized the urgency of the matter, urging the court to consider the plea on priority, given the approaching election date.
Representing the Government of J&K, Senior Advocate Sunil Sethi along with Senior AAG Monika Kohli, informed the court that a reply to the application had been filed and that the postal ballot for the detenue had already been forwarded to the competent authority. However, the court noted that the reply was yet to be placed on record.
After hearing both sides, the Hon’ble Court directed the government to ensure that the detenue is allowed to vote in accordance with the law. The court also instructed the registry to place the government’s objection on record and listed the matter again for October 27, 2025, for consideration of the second plea—regarding Mehraj Malik’s participation in the upcoming Assembly session commencing on October 23, 2025.
