The Supreme Court on Tuesday (July 30) granted bail to Sharad Pawar faction leader and former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on medical grounds in a money laundering case till disposal of regular bail plea before the Bombay High Court.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested the former minister in February 2022 in a money laundering case registered over the Goawala compound property in Mumbai's Kurla, allegedly linked to wanted gangster Dawood Ibrahim. Malik had been in judicial custody since March 2022.
A bench of justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma took note of the submissions of a counsel, appearing for Malik, that he was suffering from various ailments.
The apex court said that Malik was granted medical bail until the regular bail plea was decided before the Bombay High Court. Malik's advocate argued in the top court that his lung had totally collapsed and needed treatment. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED, did not oppose the grant of bail and said the interim medical bail may be made permanent.
Malik had sought relief from the high court, claiming he was suffering from a chronic kidney disease apart from various other ailments. He also sought bail on merit. The case against Malik by ED is based on the FIR filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Ibrahim.