On Wednesday 2nd March 2022, the Bombay high court gave the ED an extended time till 7th March 2022 to file their reply on Nawab Malik’s plea against his arrest in a case under PMLA. Maharashtra’s minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik had filed a petition to challenge his arrest in the money laundering case linked to fugitive terrorist Dawood Ibrahim and his aides. Now the minister will be produced before a special court on Thursday 3rd March 2022. He was arrested the last week and since then he is in the custody of the ED.
Order: We are adjourning petition by granting time till March 7, 2022 to ED to file reply. Any subsequent remand if granted, the same shall be without prejudice to rights and contemtions of both parties.
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) March 2, 2022
On Monday 28th February 2022, Nawab Malik had filed a petition in the high court. In his petition, he had pleaded to quash the case, and also the order passed by a special court that remanded him to the ED’s custody. Malik had also sought his immediate release along with direction from the high court to declare his arrest to be illegal. Nawab Malik had said in his petition that he was illegally arrested because he has been a vocal critic of the alleged misuse of the central agencies.
Advocate Amit Desai represented Nawab Malik in the high court while Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh appeared for the ED. Both of them argued before a division bench of Justice SB Shukre and GA Sanap. While posting the plea for the further hearing on 7th March 2022, the bench mentioned that the regular bench hearing criminal petitions will be available on that day.
The court said, “If in the meantime there is any subsequent remand or order passed by the special court, then it would be without any prejudice caused to the rights and contentions of both the petitioner (Malik) and the State (ED).”
Earlier on Tuesday, the ED had summoned Faraz Malik, son of Nawab Malik in connection with the Dawood Ibrahim money laundering case.
