The Supreme Court on Thursday granted a three-month extension to the interim bail of former Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik in a money laundering case.
Malik had moved the apex court against the Bombay High Court’s July 13 order which denied him bail for medical reasons in a case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
A bench of Justice Bela M. Trivedi and Justice Dipankar Datta observed that Malik is suffering from a kidney ailment, and his condition has not improved since August 11 when he was initially granted interim bail for two months. Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju did not oppose the extension of the interim bail.
The ED had arrested Malik in February 2022 in a case allegedly linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates. Malik had sought relief from the High Court, citing a chronic kidney disease and various other ailments. He also sought bail on the basis of merit.
The High Court had indicated that it would consider his bail plea based on merit after a two-week period. The ED’s case against Malik is founded on an FIR filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Dawood Ibrahim, a designated global terrorist and a key accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts, and his associates under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
