Kurla land usurping case: HC questions framing of charges against Nawab Malik

A single-judge bench of Justice Milind Jadhav questioned the basis of charges framed against him, after noting that his application seeking documents seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), but not relied upon in the prosecution, was still pending before the trial court

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday questioned how charges could have been framed against former Maharashtra minister and senior NCP leader Nawab Malik in the money laundering case registered against him for allegedly usurping a ₹300-crore prime plot in Kurla in connivance with Haseena Parkar, the late sister of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar.

Kurla land usurping case: HC questions framing of charges against Nawab Malik

A single-judge bench of Justice Milind Jadhav questioned the basis of charges framed against him, after noting that his application seeking documents seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), but not relied upon in the prosecution, was still pending before the trial court.

Malik was arrested by the ED in 2022 in connection with a money-laundering case registered by it on February 14. The money-laundering case in turn was based on an FIR registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Delhi on February 3, 2022, against fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and some of his close associates.

The ED has accused Malik of “indirectly funding the D-gang’s activities by usurping a prime piece of land in Kurla with the help of Dawood’s deceased sister, Haseena Parkar, by using a fabricated power of attorney. In its chargesheet, the agency claimed that the former Maharashtra minister had paid only ₹20 lakh to acquire the property in Goawala Compound in Kurla, in a deal dating back to September 2005, and paid the amount to people other than the owner of the three-acre compound, Munira Plumber.

Before the order was passed, Malik had urged the court to direct the central agency to provide a true, complete and comprehensive list of un-relied documents which were in its possession. The trial court, however, rejected Malik’s application and went ahead with framing the charges against him and others on November 18, 2025, prompting the former minister to approach the high court.

In a petition filed through advocate Kushal Mor, he challenged the PMLA court order, contending that the trial court failed to consider that the documents suppressed by the ED are vital for his defence and should have been considered before charges were framed against him. He added that if all the seized documents were produced, he could have proved his point that there was no basis to frame charges against Malik.

The ED has opposed the plea on various grounds. In its affidavit in reply, filed through advocate Prashant Mishra, the agency stated that all relevant documents received during the course of investigation were included in the relied-upon documents annexed with its prosecution complaint or charge-sheet. It, however, claimed that some of the documents sought by Malik might have been destroyed during a fire incident of April 27, 2025 at the ED office premises in Ballard Estate.

The court has posted the matter for further hearing on October 8.