JKLF Chief Yasin Malik Offers Himself for Gallows in 1990 Nurse Murder Case
Jailed JKLF chief Yasin Malik has told a Srinagar court he will not contest the 1990 Sarla Bhat murder trial, inviting the death penalty, and has announced divorce from his Pakistani wife.
In a significant development from Tihar Jail, jailed Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik has told a court in Srinagar that he will not contest the trial in the 1990 murder case of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat, effectively offering himself for the death penalty.
Malik filed a 25-page written statement before the Additional Sessions Court through his lawyer on Wednesday. The court has scheduled the next hearing for September 19. In his statement, Malik clarified that his decision to withdraw from the proceedings should not be read as an admission of guilt. He claimed he has been implicated due to political circumstances but said the decision came after deep deliberation and performing 'Istikhara', an Islamic prayer for guidance.
"I will no longer contest the trial and the death penalty may be considered for me," Malik told the court. This is not the first time he has taken such a stance. In May 2022, he refused to contest charges in a Delhi terror-funding case and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has since sought to enhance that sentence to death.
In the same affidavit, Malik announced the end of his 16-year marriage to Pakistani artist and activist Mushaal Hussein Mullick. The couple married in 2009 and have a 13-year-old daughter. Mullick served as a special advisor in Pakistan's caretaker government between 2023 and 2025. Malik stated that for the past eight years, jail rules have prevented him from speaking to his wife on the phone or seeing her on video calls.
In an emotional note, he wrote that he did not want Mullick to live her life "carrying the burden of this situation or living like a widow" and wished for her to start a new chapter with dignity. He also appealed to his daughter to care for her grandmother and speak with her daily.
Sarla Bhat, a staff nurse at SKIMS Srinagar, was abducted in April 1990 during peak militancy. Her body was recovered days later. The case remained unsolved for over three decades until the State Investigation Agency (SIA) reopened it in 2025. The chargesheet names Malik and four others; three are dead and one is absconding, leaving Malik as the primary living accused. He is currently serving a life term and faces another murder trial in Jammu.