New Delhi: A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Monday extended the judicial custody of Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik till April 22, news agency ANI reported.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on February 23 in a money laundering case.
Earlier, the special PMLA had extended the judicial custody of Nawab Malik till April 18.
The court had allowed him to be provided with a bed, mattress and chair during his judicial custody.
The Bombay High Court had refused to grant any interim relief to Malik and refused to order his release from judicial custody.
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Supreme Court to hear Nawab Malik’s plea seeking release from jail
Last week, the Supreme Court agreed to be listed for hearing on Nawab Malik’s plea filed against the Bombay High Court order, which rejected his interim application seeking immediate release in a money laundering case.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana agreed to list the matter for hearing after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Malik, mentioned the matter for urgent listing, reported ANI.
Sibal told the top court, “It is Nawab Malik’s case where the ED is proceeding. The Act came in 2005, the transaction is pre-2000. There has been a demand to carry forward the transactions of 22 years ago.”
To this the CJI said, “Yes, we will list it.”
Malik has challenged the March 15 order of the Bombay High Court, which rejected his application saying that Malik was arrested by the ED in accordance with law, and was later remanded to ED custody. And then after due process he was sent to judicial custody.
The ED had arrested Minorities Development Minister Nawab Malik on February 23 in a property deal allegedly linked to associates of gangster Dawood Ibrahim.
The central agency has accused the NCP leader of being part of an alleged criminal conspiracy to grab a property in Mumbai’s Kurla area, which currently has a market value of Rs 300 crore and belongs to Munira a plumber.
Malik had submitted before the High Court that he had bought the property in a genuine transaction three decades ago, and the plumber has now changed his mind about the transaction.
According to the inputs, the ED has attached 8 properties of the Maharashtra minister under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
over at: Money laundering case: ED attaches several properties of NCP leader Nawab Malik