SC requests Bombay High Court to hear NCP leader Nawab Malik’s bail plea in ED case

New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday listed for the second week of July a plea by jailed former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik against a Bombay High Court order putting off the hearing on his bail plea in a money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate.

A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and M M Sundresh also requested the high court to take up his bail application for hearing.

Malik has approached the apex court aggrieved by the Bombay High Court’s May 2 order adjourning his plea seeking bail to June 6 due to the non-availability of an Additional Solicitor General (ASG) who is representing the ED.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Malik, told the bench that the plea could not be heard by the high court as the ASG was not available.

“Look at his condition,” Sibal said, apparently referring to the health condition of Malik.

“Relist in the second week of July. In the meantime, we request the high court to take up the bail application for hearing,” the bench said.

Malik was arrested on February 23, 2022 by the ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PMLA) in connection with a probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides.

A special court designated to hear cases related to the PMLA had in May last year refused to grant bail to Malik on medical grounds but permitted him to get admitted to a private hospital for treatment.

The 62-year-old politician had approached the high court seeking bail.

He has denied the allegations levelled against him by the probe agency.