The Supreme Court granted interim bail to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik for two months in a money laundering case on a medical basis on Friday. 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. The ED arrested Malik in February 2022 in a case allegedly linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates.
The 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.
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