Plea in HC seeks cancellation of NCP leader Nawab Malik's interim medical bail

Mumbai, Nov 12 (PTI) A petition was filed in the Bombay High Court on Tuesday seeking cancellation of the interim bail granted to NCP leader Nawab Malik on medical grounds.

The petitioner, Samson Pathare, who claims to be a spirited citizen, has alleged that Malik was misusing the liberty granted to him and threatening witnesses, thereby violating the bail conditions imposed on him.

The Enforcement Directorate arrested the NCP leader in February 2022 in a money laundering case related to underworld fugitive Dawood Ibrahim and his aides.

The Supreme Court granted Malik interim medical bail in August 2023 to undergo treatment for a kidney ailment.

His petition seeking bail on the merits of the case is pending before the high court.

Malik is contesting the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly election from the suburban Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar assembly constituency.

Pathare filed an application seeking to intervene in the case and sought that the high court cancel Malik's interim bail.

The petitioner alleged that Malik had directly contravened the conditions imposed by the court while granting interim bail.

He claimed Malik had obtained medical bail on the ground that his kidneys were failing and he "needed hospitalisation and continuous treatment". However, he didn't undergo any surgery or hospitalisation.

Moreover, the NCP leader is neither critical nor medically unfit, requiring him to be out on medical bail.

"He has, prima facie, misled the court and is misusing the liberty given to him," the plea alleged.

In the guise of the election campaign, Malik is "settling scores" with the witnesses acquainted and related to the case and is "extending threats" to witnesses to change their stance before the special PMLA court, Pathare claimed in the plea.

It also claimed that due to the election campaign, the NCP leader is continuously outside the jurisdiction of the PMLA court and giving interviews to the media, which was again a violation of his bail condition.

"He (Malik) is evidently evading due course of justice, thereby abusing the concession granted to him by deliberately causing a delay in the trial before the special court. The NCP leader has also failed to give his medical details of the ED from time to time, as required," the application stated.

In August 2023, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Malik and extended it from time to time. The apex court clarified that Malik's medical bail will be valid till the high court decides his regular bail plea. PTI SP ARU