NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail for two months on medical grounds to former Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik in a money laundering case.
A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi allowed the plea, making it clear that the bail is being granted only on medical grounds and not on merits.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), said he will not oppose the bail sought on medical grounds for a stipulated time period.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Malik, submitted that his clients health is not in good condition and urged the top court to grant him medical bail. Sibal said Malik is suffering from a kidney ailment and he is also undergoing medical treatment.
The bench, in its order, noted that Malik is in hospital for kidney disease and other aliments.
We are passing the order strictly on medical conditions and have not entered merits," the bench said.
Malik had approached the apex court challenging the Bombay High Court order rejecting the temporary medical bail plea.
Malik was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in February 2022 in connection with a money laundering case linked to fugitive terrorist Dawood Ibrahim.
Malik had moved High Court after a Mumbai special court rejected his bail plea in the matter in November last year.
The high court had noted that Malik's right to life was not infringed in any manner as he had been getting "specialised medical assistance".
After his arrest on February 23, 2022, Malik has been under custody and has been lodged at Arthur Road Jail.
A Special Court in Mumbai in November, 2022, had rejected his bail application in the money laundering case arising out activities in 1999.
The ED alleged that Munira Plumber's prime property in Mumbai's Kurla, worth Rs 300 crore as per current market value, was usurped by Malik through Solidus Investments Pvt Ltd, a company purportedly owned by his family members, in connivance with Parkar, her bodyguard Salim Patel and 1993 bomb blasts convict Sardar Shah Wali Khan.
