Nationalist Congress Party leader Nawab Malik on Tuesday told the Bombay high court that his parents and brother have died of kidney failures, and since he too is suffering from a failed kidney, he should be granted bail in the money laundering case. Malik approached the HC after the special court rejected his bail application in November last year. Malik’s counsel, senior advocate Amit Desai, on Tuesday, submitted that the 64-year-old was admitted to a hospital after his arrest in February last year. Desai submitted that Malik had been undergoing treatment for various ailments since then and had suffered kidney failure.
“Medical reports show that the other kidney is functioning at 60% and the report of the panel of doctors from JJ Hospital also suggested continuous monitoring,” Desai said, adding that the panel from the hospital have contrasting views. The senior doctor said that Malik required constant monitoring, while one of the panellists thought that the problem could be taken care of through outpatient-department visits. Before Desai commenced his submissions, the single-judge bench of justice Anuja Prabhudessai sought clarity on whether Malik was seeking bail under the provisions of PMLA on medical grounds or on merit. The bench said that if it was on medical grounds, it would be only an interim bail.Desai responded saying that he was willing to argue on both medical grounds as well as on merit but would restrict himself to arguing on medical grounds as of now, he would argue on merits later. The court accepted the same and sought the medical report of the JJ Hospital doctors to understand the extent of the seriousness of Malik’s ailment.