Ex-Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik gets 10 week interim bail

The Supreme Court has granted interim bail to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik for 10 weeks. The court has further directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a reply in five weeks, following which a counter-reply from Malik's side will be filed in two weeks.

The Supreme Court will again hear the bail application after 10 weeks. The court has also directed that the conditions of release will be set by the special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Nawab Malik's family is yet to get the order in hand, after which they need to immediately approach the trial court to start the further procedure. In case the procedure does not get completed because of impending holidays, like - Independence Day and Parsi New Year, then it might get delayed and spill over to later in the week.

The Bombay High Court had refused to grant bail to Malik in an interim order on medical grounds on July 13.

The bench had said that there was an "absence of compelling reasons warranting grant of interim bail on medical grounds," and thus refused to exercise discretion in granting bail. Although, the bail on merits is yet to be heard by the high court.

Malik's special leave petition (SLP) pointed out that the high court had ruled that Malik's right to health or life was not being curtailed or infringed in any manner. The court had based its decision on Malik's medical reports, which, according to them, did not provide sufficient grounds for granting medical bail.

The high court also noted that Malik was already suffering from his ailments before his arrest in February 2022, according to the SLP.

The SLP further stated that high court ought to have considered the deterioration in the medical condition of the petitioner while in judicial custody. It stressed that considering the age and the condition of the petitioner, even assuming the conditions were existing prior to arrest, it is apparent that despite being in a hospital, the petitioner continues to suffer from ailments which pose a threat to his life.

In February 2023, Nawab Malik was arrested by the ED under the PMLA in connection with a probe linked to activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides. Following his arrest, Malik's health took a turn for the worse. By September 2023, his left kidney had failed completely, and the condition of his right kidney had also significantly deteriorated. As a result, Malik is now battling chronic kidney disease.

Malik has been at a private hospital in Mumbai since over a year.