Post-dated cheque for disaster: Lone
Irfan Tramboo
SRINAGAR, Oct 27: The Legislative Assembly today disallowed a discussion on the issue of reservation, with the Speaker ruling that the matter was sub judice and not of recent occurrence, and therefore could not be admitted under Assembly rules.
The adjournment motion was moved by MLA Handwara Sajad Lone, who described the reservation issue as a “post-dated cheque for disaster” and urged that it should not be delayed.
“I had given an adjournment motion notice on the reservation issue. I want to say that it is a post-dated cheque for disaster. Do not put it under the carpet,” he said.
The Speaker, however, said Lone’s motion has already been rejected as per the rules.
He cited Rule 58, sub-rule (3), noting that an adjournment motion must concern a matter of recent occurrence, which the reservation issue is not.
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He also pointed out that a committee had been formed on the issue and its report was awaited, which, he said, was another reason for not admitting the motion.
Referring to sub-rule (7) of the same rule, the Speaker added that an issue should not be pending before any competent court of law.
“This matter is sub judice and not of recent occurrence. Therefore, I reject it and will not allow it,” he said.
Reacting to the ruling, Lone likened the situation to that of a patient “ready to die,” but whose case remains sub judice and therefore cannot be discussed.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) MLA from Pulwama, Waheed Ur Rehman Parra also spoke on reservation issue, stating that his party did not oppose the concept itself but questioned its fairness and implementation.
“We are not against reservation, but Kashmir has seen everything,” he remarked, adding that the same youth who once engaged in protests or militancy have now chosen the democratic path through voting, yet “there is still no real improvement on the ground.”
The House also witnessed heated demands-particularly from National Conference (NC) members-for an hour-long discussion on the detention of Doda MLA Mehraj Malik under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
Banihal MLA Sajad Shaheen first raised the issue, terming Malik’s detention “illegal” and “without any basis.”
“Mehraj is under detention illegally. I request an hour-long discussion because today Mehraj has been detained under false allegations to muzzle his voice; tomorrow it could be any other MLA,” he said, urging the House to condemn the detention and seek revocation of the PSA so that Malik could attend the Assembly.
BJP MLA Ranbir Singh Pathania countered that invoking the PSA was a jurisdictional matter pertaining to the District Magistrate and not directly to the Government.
“As per the business scheduled for today, we were to have a question hour. The issue of PSA invocation has everything to do with the District Magistrate and nothing to do with any political party or the Government,” he said.
NC MLAs opposed Pathania’s stance, leading to a brief commotion in the House.
The Speaker intervened, directing members to take their seats and urging them to show patience and listen to one another regardless of party affiliations.
Gurez MLA Nazir Ahmad Khan Gurezi also demanded the formation of a committee to examine Malik’s detention, stressing that the deputy commissioner was not the final authority.
“If he was involved in anti-national activities, we would not have supported it-and this House has never supported that. We can talk and discuss it here even if it is sub judice,” he said, adding, “This House is supreme to the court. Courts interpret the laws that we make here. We want a committee to be formed to look into whether the PSA was rightly imposed.”
The BJP members, however, continued to oppose the demand for a discussion, insisting that the matter was sub judice and therefore not fit for debate in the Assembly.
Some accused the ruling benches of attempting to politicize a legal matter.
In contrast, several lawmakers-including those from the NC and PDP-supported Shaheen’s call, terming Mehraj Malik’s detention “unjustified” and “politically motivated.”
PDP’s Parra expressed concern over what he described as the diminishing authority of democratic institutions in J&K. He warned that the stature and independence of elected representatives were being “eroded.”
Parra said the detention of the MLA Doda reflected a troubling trend. “The very institution of MLAs is being weakened,” he observed, calling the move “a dangerous precedent for democracy.”
Without naming anyone, Parra hinted that “silencing political voices” and elected representatives undermines the foundations of democratic governance.
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