NCP leader Nawab Malik.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday made the interim bail granted to NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on medical ground absolute till disposal of his regular bail plea before the Bombay High Court in a money laundering case.
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma granted the relief to Malik as his counsel said that the petitioner's one lung has totally collapsed.
On the basis of humanitarian ground, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the ED, did not oppose the interim medical bail to be made permanent.
"There is no objection from my side," Raju told the court.
The court made Malik's interim bail as absolute saying the order would be subject to conditions set by the special court.
In January this year, the court extended the interim bail granted to Malik on health grounds by another six months.
He was initially granted interim bail on medical grounds for two months in August 2023, which was extended repeatedly.
Malik was suffering from kidney ailment and his condition has not improved since August 11, 2023 when he was granted interim bail for two months.
Malik challenged the Bombay High Court order passed in July, 2023 denying him bail on medical grounds in the case being probed by ED.
The ED had arrested Malik in February 2022 in the case linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates.