HC refuses bail on medical grounds to NCP leader Nawab Malik

The single judge bench of justice Anuja Prabhudessai, however, permitted Malik to argue for bail in the money laundering case registered against him by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with alleged usurpation of Goawala Compound in Kurla

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday rejected the application of NCP leader Nawab Malik who had sought temporary bail on medical grounds due to his continued admission to a hospital since his arrest in a money laundering case. The leader is being monitored for serious ailments, including a failed kidney.

Mumbai: NCP leader and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik being taken to court from the Arthur Road Jail, in Mumbai, Friday, April 22, 2022. (PTI Photo)(PTI04_22_2022_000088B) (PTI)

The single judge bench of justice Anuja Prabhudessai, however, permitted Malik to argue for bail in the money laundering case registered against him by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with alleged usurpation of Goawala Compound in Kurla.

While arguing for Malik, senior advocate Amit Desai had informed the bench that Malik had been undergoing treatment for various ailments since his arrest last year and had also suffered kidney failure. The bench was told that there was a history of kidney failures in the family.

“Medical reports show that the other kidney is functioning at 60% and the report of the panel of doctors from JJ Hospital also suggested continuous monitoring,” Desai said, adding that the panel from the hospital had contrasting views. The senior doctor said that Malik required constant monitoring, while one of the panelists thought out-patient visits would suffice.

Desai had said that as only one kidney was functional, the court should take a sympathetic view and grant him bail on medical grounds.

The Enforcement Directorate through additional solicitor general Anil Singh had opposed the arguments and said that there were many people who survived on just one kidney. Singh told the court that in the event of any need for medical intervention, Malik could be taken to a hospital and hence he should be directed to go back to prison.

The bench was also told that the instances in which courts had granted bail on medical grounds was when the accused could not afford private medical treatment and as Malik has been bearing the cost of his treatment and stay at a private hospital since his arrest, there was no need for him to be granted bail on medical grounds.