On May 16, the Supreme Court adjourned NCP leader and former Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik’s bail application to July. Nawab Malik is in jail since February 23, 2022, after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him in a money laundering case.
Nawab Malik moved the Supreme Court after the Bombay High Court adjourned his bail application to June 6; however, the Supreme Court adjourned his plea observing that the High Court cannot be bypassed. The Supreme Court said that the Bombay High Court would have the liberty to hear the matter in the meantime.
Nawab Malik’s counsel, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, expressed anguish at the Bombay High Court adjourning the bail application on the ground of the non-availability of an Additional Solicitor General. Furthermore, Kapil Sibal claimed that Nawab Malik is suffering from health problems and urged the court to “Look at his condition.”
The Additional Solicitor General SV Raju submitted that the ED will be ready next week. Thereafter, Kapil Sibal urged the Supreme Court to specify that the Bombay High Court hears the matter next week. He said, “Why can’t it be taken up next week? He (ASG) is saying that they are ready next week.” However, the Supreme Court did not specify any date for the Bombay High Court to hear the case.
The NCP leader moved to the Bombay High Court on November 30, 2022, after the special court refused to grant him bail in the PMLA case.
Background
The ED arrested Nawab Malik alleging that he is linked to terrorist Dawood Ibrahim’s D-company for a long time and purported conspiracy to “usurp” the Goawala building compound in Kurla West in 1996 with the help of Dawood’s sister Haseena Parkar.
Haseena Parkar’s son Alishah Parkar revealed that his mother was involved in financial transactions with Dawood Ibrahim for a long time and took over a part of the Goawala Building compound and opened an office there, when he was interrogated by the ED.
Furthermore, Alishah Parkar informed the ED that Haseena Parkar later sold a portion of the compound to the NCP leader later. In the money laundering case against Nawab Malik, the ED is arguing that since Haseen Parkar handled Dawood Ibrahim’s finances, the money was ultimately used for terror funding.
