Nawab Malik was arrested in a money laundering case in February 2022
Former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik has been granted interim bail for two months on medical grounds by the Supreme Court today.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in February 2022 in connection with a money laundering case linked to fugitive terrorist Dawood Ibrahim.
Mr Malik had made headlines for attacking Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) former zonal director Sameer Wankhede, accusing him of several service-related wrongdoings after the anti-drugs officer led a raid on a cruise ship off Mumbai's coast in October 2021.
That time, Mr Malik's son-in-law Sameer Khan was arrested in a drugs case by the NCB's Mumbai unit led by Mr Wankhede.
In July this year, the Bombay High Court held that Mr Malik's right to life was not infringed in any manner as he had been getting "specialized medical assistance". The high court had denied bail to him then, saying he wasn't suffering from any critical ailment.
Mr Malik's legal team has been arguing that his health has been deteriorating over the past few months, and he has been suffering from stage 2 to stage 3 chronic kidney disease.
The NCP and its Maharashtra ally Congress welcomed the bail granted to Mr Malik. NCP spokesperson Clyde Crasto thanked the Supreme Court for granting interim bail for two months to Mr Malik, saying the 64-year-old former minister can get treatment for multiple health issues during this period.