Bombay HC refuses bail to Nawab Malik on medical grounds in money laundering case

Bombay High Court on Thursday refused to grant bail on medical grounds to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik in connection with a money laundering investigation being conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Malik was arrested in February 2022 by the ED in the case allegedly linked to activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates. NCP is in judicial custody and 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 merits. 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 was deteriorating since the last eight months and he was in stage 2 to stage 3 of a chronic kidney disease.

ED's case against Malik is based 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.