Former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik has been discharged from a private hospital after the Supreme Court granted him two months of interim bail for medical reasons in a money laundering case. Malik, who was arrested in February 2022 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for alleged involvement with fugitive underworld figure Dawood Ibrahim and his associates, had been receiving treatment for a kidney-related ailment at a suburban Kurla hospital while in judicial custody.
A special court established bail conditions, including a media communication ban, and the requirement for Malik to surrender his original passport to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the agency investigating the case. The court also stipulated that Malik must not engage in any criminal activities and must provide medical examination details to the central agency.
The Supreme Court’s interim bail was granted solely based on medical conditions, as the bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi emphasized that they did not delve into the case’s merits. Malik’s plea for relief on medical grounds had been rejected by the Bombay High Court, which is set to consider his bail application on merit.
The ED’s case against Malik stems from an FIR filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), linking him to Dawood Ibrahim and associates under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, a prominent leader within the NCP faction led by party founder Sharad Pawar, applauded Malik’s interim bail as a “victory of truth.”
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