SC Grants Interim Bail To Former Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik

Former Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik who was arrested over a money laundering case in 2022, has been granted an interim bail by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Malik for two months on medical grounds.

Malik had moved the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court's July 13 order denying him bail on medical grounds in the case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

A bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi noted that Malik is in the hospital for kidney disease and other ailments. "We are passing the order strictly on medical conditions and have not entered into the merits of the case," the bench said.

"We are passing the order strictly on medical conditions and have not entered into the merits of the case," the bench said.

The ED had arrested Malik in February 2022 in a case allegedly linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader is in judicial custody and currently undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Mumbai.

Malik had sought relief from the HC, claiming he was suffering from a chronic kidney disease apart from various other ailments. He also sought bail on merit.

The high court had said it will hear his plea seeking bail on merit after two weeks.

The 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.