Mumbai court permits renal scan for jailed NCP leader Nawab Malik

Mumbai, Sep 7: A special PMLA court here has allowed former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik, arrested in a money laundering case, to undergo a renal scan.

The court had last month also permitted NCP leader Malik to undergo the renal scan (a nuclear medicine test to see how well kidneys work), but it could not be conducted then as he was suffering from fever and other health issues. Special court judge R N Rokade on Tuesday allowed Malik's application seeking permission to undergo the scan. A copy of the order was made available on Wednesday.

The Enforcement Directorate arrested Malik on February 23 this year in a money laundering case linked to fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim. Malik is currently in judicial custody and lodged at the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai.

The court had earlier rejected his plea for bail on medical grounds. His regular bail application is being heard by the special judge and is at the arguments stage.

Malik had in his application said he was permitted to undergo the renal scan at a hospital in suburban Ghatkopar on August 10.

However, the scan could not be performed then as he was suffering from high fever, pus cells in urine and high creatinine level, his plea said.

"The vitals of the applicant have now stabilised and as per his latest medical report the scan is required to determine further course of medical treatment. Hence, it is prayed to modify the previous order and permit the applicant to be escorted to the hospital for conducting the scan," the plea said.

The prosecution did not oppose the plea and left it to the court's discretion.

After perusal of the medical report, the judge found substance in Malik's application and directed the Arthur Road jail superintendent to take him to a test centre in the Sarvodaya Hospital premises in Ghatkopar on September 12 for the scan.

The test expenses will be borne by Malik, the court said.