Yasin Malik Refuses to Contest Trial, Seeks Death Penalty in Sarla Bhat Case
Yasin Malik files affidavit in Sarla Bhat murder case, declines to contest trial, seeks death penalty, and announces divorce.
Jailed Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik has announced he will not contest the trial in the 1990 killing of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat. In a 25-page affidavit filed before the TADA/POTA Court in Srinagar on August 27, Malik has instead requested the court to award him capital punishment.
Malik, currently lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail, framed the document as his final statement before the court. He stated that after performing an Istakharah prayer and reflecting on his circumstances, he decided to stop contesting the proceedings. However, he explicitly clarified that this decision should not be treated as an admission of guilt or acceptance of the prosecution's allegations.
In a separate development, Malik also announced his decision to end his marriage to his Pakistani wife. He said he has been unable to communicate with her and their daughter for years and decided to separate her from the bond of nikah before his execution. He invoked Nelson Mandela's account of marital separation while imprisoned to explain his decision.
The affidavit comes two months after the Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA) filed a 737-page chargesheet on June 29, naming Malik as the mastermind in the case. Bhat, a 27-year-old staff nurse at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), was abducted from near her hospital on April 18, 1990, tortured, and shot dead at Omer Colony, Malbagh.
Throughout the affidavit, Malik rejects the prosecution's account, including allegations that Bhat was targeted for providing information to security forces. He also disputes the reliance on an alleged handwritten JKLF note recovered from the scene and questions why he was not prosecuted during the 1990s when he was arrested or investigated.
The affidavit also contains Malik's account of interactions with the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government after his release from jail in 2000. He claims he met senior officials including Ajit Doval, then a senior Intelligence Bureau officer, and National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra. He further alleges that the Indian Embassy conveyed that Vajpayee had sanctioned $50,000 for his medical treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital, which he declined. These claims cannot be independently verified.
Malik also revisits injuries he suffered in April 1990 after falling from a fifth-floor building, using this to challenge the prosecution's timeline that he directed Bhat's killing on April 19.
The court will decide the case based on the prosecution's evidence, the defence position, and applicable law. Malik's request for the death penalty does not itself determine the sentence.