Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has filed a habeas corpus petition of NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). ) on Friday and will deliver its decision on March 15.
Malik, Maharashtra’s Minority Affairs Minister and chief spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), was arrested by the ED on February 23 in connection with its probe into a money laundering case involving the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates. The minister was first sent to ED custody and later to judicial custody. Justice P.B. Varale and Justice S.A.M Modak, after three days of lengthy arguments by both the sides, reserved its order and said the order would be pronounced on Tuesday (March 15).
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Malik’s counsel, senior advocate Amit Desai, had earlier told the high court that the arrest and subsequent detention of the minister was illegal. He had appealed that the arrest should be quashed and interim relief be granted to him by releasing him from custody immediately. ED’s counsel, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh and advocate Hiten Venegaokar had informed the court that Malik was arrested after following due process and the remand order issued by the special PMLA court allowed him to be remanded to ED custody and then to judicial custody. Valid reasons have been given.
He had argued that the habeas corpus petition of the minister was not justified. Instead, he had said that he should appeal for regular bail in the case.
