Money laundering case: SC grants two-month interim bail to Nawab Malik

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail for two months to former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on medical grounds in a money laundering case.

Malik had moved the top court against the Bombay High Court's July 13 order denying him bail on medical grounds in the case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

A bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi noted that Malik is in 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 had arrested Malik in February 2022 in the case allegedly linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates.

The Nationalist Congress Party (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.