Supreme Court allows urgent hearing of Nawab Malik's bail plea

Nawab Malik

The Supreme Court on April 13 agreed to grant an urgent hearing to Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik's appeal against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Malik moved the court against the Bombay High Court order that rejected his interim application seeking immediate release in the case.

The high court said Malik was arrested by the ED in accordance with the law and subsequently remanded to the probe agency’s custody and then to judicial custody following due process.

It had noted that Malik had gone to the ED’s office for questioning on February 23, the day he was arrested, in response to summons issued to him by the central agency. He was then issued an arrest order and taken into custody by the ED, the high court had said.

Malik was arrested by the ED over a property deal allegedly linked to the aides of gangster Dawood Ibrahim.

The high court said Malik’s petition had raised some debatable issues and the court needed to hear at length the arguments from both sides before passing any final orders.

The central agency has accused Malik of being part of an alleged criminal conspiracy to usurp a property in Mumbai’s Kurla area which has a market value of Rs 300 crore and belongs rightfully to one Munira Plumber.

Malik told the high court that he had bought the property in a bonafide transaction three decades ago and Plumber had changed her mind about the transaction.