Kerala court orders probe against MLA KT Jaleel over remarks on J&K

A court in Kerala on Tuesday directed the police to register a case against former Minister and ruling LDF MLA K T Jaleel for his recent controversial remarks on Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The directive of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Thiruvalla came on a plea filed by RSS Pathanamthitta district leader Arun Mohan seeking legal action against Jaleel for his alleged "anti-national remarks." 

The court has directed the SHO Keezhvaipur police station to register a case against Jaleel and investigate the matter, counsel for the petitioner, V Jinachandran, told PTI.

In his Facebook post during his visit to the valley on August 12, the Kerala MLA had said, "The part of Kashmir annexed to Pakistan was known as 'Azad Kashmir' and it was an area where the Pakistan government does not have direct control." 

Jaleel, who was a Minister in the previous CPI(M)-led LDF government, had said "Indian adheena Jammu and Kashmir (India-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir) consists of parts of Jammu, Kashmir Valley and Ladakh." He later withdrew his controversial Facebook post.

On August 13, Jaleel initially gave a one-line reply to the controversy, saying he has "only sympathy" for those who failed to understand the meaning of his remarks. "I have only sympathy for those who don't understand the meaning of "Azad Kashmir" when it is written in double inverted commas," Jaleel said in his Malayalam FB post. However, he remained silent on the other comment that sparked controversy – "Indian adheena Jammu and Kashmir" (India-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir)" – in his explanatory note.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan termed Jaleel’s comments on Kashmir as "very unfortunate" and "totally unacceptable". "It is very unfortunate. Not only is it unacceptable, I wonder if these comments were made after going through some literature or after knowing something or just out of ignorance. I do not know … I feel very sorry for this kind of comment. It is totally unacceptable. I feel hurt by these kinds of comments," Khan said while speaking to reporters.

Several people, especially BJP leaders, had come out against his post.