Jailed Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malik has denied any role in the 1990 killing of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat and told a Srinagar court that he will no longer contest the trial. He has also asked the court to award him capital punishment.
Malik submitted a 25-page affidavit before the Additional Sessions Judge hearing TADA and POTA cases in Srinagar on Wednesday through his lawyer, advocate Abu Adil Pandit. The court has listed the matter for September 19, 2026, for the prosecution’s reply.
Malik said his decision not to contest the proceedings should not be treated as an admission of guilt or acceptance of the prosecution’s allegations.
Malik Says He Was Unconscious When Bhat Was Killed
The State Investigation Agency (SIA) filed a chargesheet in June in connection with the killing of Sarla Bhat, who was abducted and killed in April 1990. Malik was named among the accused more than three decades after the incident.
“To my utter shock and disbelief, I was arrayed as one of the accused in the said chargesheet after more than three decades of the occurrence,” Malik said in his affidavit.
He claimed that he had suffered life-threatening injuries on April 8, 1990, and was unconscious and undergoing medical treatment when Bhat was killed on April 19.
“The allegation that I ordered the killing of Ms Sarla Bhat out of revenge is, therefore, wholly false,” Malik said.
He added that it was “incomprehensible” how someone who was unconscious and fighting for his own survival could have participated in, directed or organised the killing.
Malik also rejected allegations that Bhat was targeted because she was allegedly passing information to security forces. He described her as “an innocent civilian” and said she was not responsible for the security operation that allegedly triggered the killing.
‘I Believe I Have Been Falsely Implicated’
Malik said he had no complaint against the court or the prosecution but claimed that the case had emerged from political circumstances.
“I respectfully state that in my understanding, the present proceedings have arisen out of political circumstances and decisions and I believe that I have been falsely implicated in the present case,” he said.
The SIA’s chargesheet names Malik along with Khurshid Ahmad Chalkoo, Abdul Hamid Sheikh, Mohammad Yousuf Sofi and Ghulam Mohammad Taploo. Malik has challenged the prosecution’s allegations and the evidence cited against him.
Despite denying the allegations, Malik said he had decided after “deep reflection” not to contest the proceedings further.
“Considering my personal circumstances and after deep reflection, I have decided not to contest the trial proceedings further. My decision shall not be treated as an admission of any prosecution fact, guilt or acceptance of the allegations made against me. I request for capital punishment,” he said.
The request does not amount to a death sentence. The court will decide the case according to the ongoing judicial proceedings.
Malik Announces Separation From Wife
In the same affidavit, Malik also announced his decision to separate from his Pakistani wife, artist and activist Mushaal Hussein Mullick. The couple married in 2009 and have a daughter, Raziya Sultana.
Malik said he did not want Mushaal to spend the rest of her life carrying the burden of his circumstances or living as a widow.
“I therefore request you to find the courage to begin a new chapter of your life with dignity and hope,” he wrote, adding that he had decided to separate her from the bond of their nikah before his possible execution.
Malik also wrote an emotional message to his daughter, asking her to remain in regular contact with her grandmother in Kashmir and support her during what he described as a difficult period.
Separate From 2017 Terror-Funding Conviction
Malik has been lodged in Tihar Jail since 2019 and was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi court in 2022 in a terror-funding case.
His decision to seek capital punishment in the Sarla Bhat case is part of the separate proceedings before the Srinagar court and does not change his existing life sentence.
