The Bombay High Court on Thursday refused to grant bail on medical grounds to NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik in connection with a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Malik was arrested in February 2022 by the ED in a case allegedly linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is in judicial custody and is currently undergoing treatment in a private hospital here.
Malik had sought bail from the HC on medical grounds, saying he was suffering from a chronic kidney disease, apart from various other ailments. He also sought bail on merit. A single bench of Justice Anuja Prabhudessai rejected Malik’s plea seeking bail on medical grounds. The court said it would hear his plea seeking bail on merits after two weeks.
Malik’s counsel, Amit Desai, had argued his client’s health had been deteriorating for the last eight months and he was in stages 2 to 3 of a chronic kidney disease. He urged the court to grant Malik bail considering his health condition and said if he was kept in such stressful conditions, it would be fatal.
Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the ED, opposed the bail and said Malik is already in a hospital of his choice and is receiving medical treatment.
