"Yasin Malik could have escaped or been killed": SG Tushar Mehta writes to Home Secretary on Malik appearing in person in Supreme court

Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta on Friday wrote a strongly worded letter to Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla stating that Yasin Malik's presence in the Supreme Court on Friday was a matter of grave security lapse since the convicted terrorist "could have escaped or could have been killed" while bring brought to the Court. .Malik had appeared in person before the top court on Friday in an appeal filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against a special Jammu court order calling for Malik's physical presence for trial proceedings in Jammu.Malik's personal presence in top court in a case involving the issue of his personal appearance in another court had created quite a consternation when the case came up for hearing in the morning on Friday..Later in the day, SG Mehta chose to write to the Home Secretary stating that neither had the top court sought Malik's personal presence nor was any permission taken from any authority of the Supreme Court to produce him in court. "A person with terrorist and secessionist background 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," the SG said in his letter.Mehta also said that he learnt from the security in charge of Malik that the secessionist was presented before Court based on the notice sent by the Supreme Court which is a general notice sent to all litigants to be represented in a case before the top court.But that notice does not in any way authorise or permit personal production of the concerned litigant, the SG underlined.."When I enquired from the officer who was in-charge of the security of Mr. Yasin Malik in the Supreme Court, the only thing he could show me was a printed notice in a general format of the Supreme Court which is sent with regard to every party to any matter in the Court. The said printed notice informs the recipients of the notice to appear before the Court either in person or through an authorised Advocate. This is not either the permission of the Hon'ble Supreme Court to bring a convict facing an order under section 268 of CrP Code to come out of jail nor it is requiring mandatory personal presence of the recipient of the order," the letter to Bhalla said.It further stated jail authorities must be receiving hundreds of such orders/notices daily and have never construed any such order as one requiring personal presence of either any accused or convict. .Even the security of the Supreme Court also would have been put to a serious risk if any untoward incident were to happen, the SG added.The SG also pointed out that there is an order by the Home Ministry under Section 268 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) that bars jail authorities from bringing Malik out of jail for security reasons. "In any view of the matter so long as the order under Section 268 of CrPC subsists, jail authorities had no power to bring him out of jail premises nor did they have any reason to do so," said the letter..The SG, therefore, urged the Home Secretary to take suitable steps."It is my firm view that this is serious security lapse.. 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," reads the letter. .A Jammu special court had sought Malik's appearance for cross-examination of witnesses in two cases - the killing of four IAF personnel and the abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of former Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed in 1989.The Supreme Court had issued notice in the matter in April this year and stayed the orders directing Malik's physical presence.