SC junks Nawab Malik's bail plea in money laundering case; 'Can't interfere at this stage'

On Friday, the Supreme Court refused to grant bail to Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik in the money laundering case registered by the ED. Earlier on April 13, a bench led by CJI NV Ramana had agreed to list for urgent hearing the NCP leader's plea challenging the Bombay High Court order turning down his bail application after senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the matter.

Today, Sibal told a two-judge bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant that his client was arrested in 2022 for a transaction in 1999.

However, Justice Chandrachud stressed, "You can apply for bail before the competent court. We'll not interfere right now in this case. It is too nascent for us to interfere at this stage". However, the Congress MP contended that the Prevention of Money Laundering Act could not be applicable as there was no prima facie case against Malik.

But Justice Kant observed that such issues can be considered by the designated court. While denying bail, the SC clarified that the observations of the High Court on the merits of the case were confined to ascertaining whether interim relief was necessary. Nawab Malik will continue to languish in the Arthur Road Jail until May 6 after his judicial custody was extended by 14 days on Friday. 

Nawab Malik's arrest in money laundering case

Nawab Malik was arrested at 2.45 p.m. on February 23 by the ED, which alleged that he was guilty of an offence punishable under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. This came after Dawood Ibrahim's brother Iqbal Kaskar allegedly revealed certain facts about his sister Haseena Parkar's involvement in usurping high-valued properties of innocent citizens in Mumbai.

The ED alleged that Munira Plumber's prime property in Kurla, the present market value of which is Rs.300 crore, was usurped by the NCP leader through Solidus Investments Pvt. Ltd. - a company purportedly owned by his family members.

As per the ED, this was done in connivance with Haseena Parkar, her bodyguard Salim Patel and 1993 bomb blasts convict Sardar Shah Wali Khan. Subsequently, a special PMLA court remanded him to ED custody. Most importantly, it held that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the accusations are well-founded under PMLA.

It is worth noting that the central agency has also attached multiple properties belonging to him and his family. On Thursday, it filed the charge sheet in this case before the PMLA court.