Srinagar: In a significant development in the long-pending murder case of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat, jailed Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik has told the court that he will no longer contest the proceedings and has instead sought capital punishment.
Malik made the declaration in a 25-page affidavit filed from Delhi’s Tihar Jail on August 27 before the Additional Sessions Judge of the TADA/POTA Court in Srinagar. While seeking the death penalty, Malik has maintained that his decision should not be treated as an admission of guilt or acceptance of the prosecution’s allegations.
The development comes shortly after the Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA) filed a 737-page chargesheet on June 29, 2026, naming Malik as an accused in the decades-old case. The investigation has brought renewed attention to the violence suffered by Kashmiri Pandits during the height of terrorism in the Valley.
Sarla Bhat killing and the Kashmiri Pandit exodus
Sarla Bhat, a 27-year-old staff nurse associated with Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), was abducted in April 1990 and subsequently killed. According to the prosecution case cited in the report, she was tortured and shot dead at Omer Colony in Srinagar.
Her killing occurred during one of the darkest periods of Jammu and Kashmir’s recent history, when targeted violence and threats contributed to the mass displacement of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley.
The SIA has alleged that Malik was at the centre of the conspiracy surrounding Bhat’s killing. Investigators have also examined an alleged handwritten JKLF note recovered from the scene and allegations that Bhat was targeted on suspicion of providing information to security forces.
Malik, however, has rejected the prosecution’s account and questioned the evidence, including why he and other accused were not prosecuted during the investigations and arrests carried out in the 1990s.
Malik’s claims about the Vajpayee government
A substantial portion of Malik’s affidavit focuses on his alleged interactions with the government led by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Malik claims that after his release from jail in 2000, the then BJP-led government initiated a dialogue process with him. He names senior officials including Ajit Doval, Shyamal Dutta and Brajesh Mishra in his account.
He also claims that while undergoing medical evaluation at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States, the Indian Embassy conveyed that Vajpayee had sanctioned $50,000 for his treatment. Malik says he declined the assistance. These claims are assertions contained in his affidavit and are not independently established by the document.
A decision that does not determine the court’s verdict
Malik has described the affidavit as his final statement of conscience and says his decision followed an Istakharah prayer and reflection on his circumstances. He has also announced his intention to end his marriage to his Pakistani wife before facing death.
However, his request for capital punishment does not automatically determine the sentence. The court will decide the matter after considering the prosecution’s evidence, the legal position and the accused’s stand.
The case also underscores the significance of the SIA’s renewed investigation into crimes dating back to the peak of terrorism in Kashmir. Investigators have reportedly identified leads and witnesses in other unresolved cases involving prominent Kashmiri figures, including Justice Neelkanth Ganjoo, lawyer Tikka Lal Taploo and poet Sarwanand Kaul Premi.
The reopening of such cases represents an effort to pursue accountability for crimes that remained unresolved for decades amid the violence and displacement that transformed Kashmir’s social fabric.
