Why the Bombay High Court refused interim relief to Nawab Malik in his habeas corpus plea

While noting that his arrest was in compliance with provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused interim relief to Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik in a case involving underworld don Dawood Ibrahim..On first blush, a Bench of Justices Prasanna B Varale and Shriram M Modak stated that releasing Malik seemed like an attractive idea. However, after considering the material on record and submissions advanced, the Bench was not inclined to grant interim relief for Malik's release. .The 47-page order refusing relief was passed on the following grounds:.Enforcement Directorate (ED) complied with Section 19 of PMLA.Malik appeared at the ED's office in response to a summons issued by the agency. The High Court noted his endorsement on the arrest order where he acknowledged to have informed his son about the grounds of arrest.When the ED approached the Special PMLA Court, Malik availed legal assistance and his remand was vehemently opposed. After taking the remand grounds and the response by Malik's counsel into consideration, the Special Court passed an order of remand. .Retrospective application of PMLA cannot be considered at this stage.In reply to Malik's submission that the PMLA was applied in a retrospective manner, Additional Solicitor-General (ASG) Anil Singh replied that the amendment to Section 3 merely gave an explanation to the main Section. Given that the constitutional validity of the Section was not challenged before it, the Court prima facie held that the contention could not be accepted at this stage..Special Court granting custody is legal.The High Court accepted submissions of the ASG that merely remanding Malik to custody will not make the order illegal ipso-facto. Further, the order granting custody would not leave Malik remediless for raising his grievance against arrest.The Court observed that Malik is entitled to take up appropriate proceedings such as moving for bail. There is no dispute on the jurisdiction of the Special Court and merely because order is against Malik does not make it patently illegal, the High Court said..Investigation at nascent stage.Holding that the investigation was recently initiated, the High Court opined that it was not expected to assess evidence and record any finding on the material collected. "Such an observation would not be only premature but also adversely affect the rights and contentions of Malik," the order stated. .Senior Advocate Amit Desai with advocates Taraq Sayed, Kushal Mor, Rohan Dakshini instructed by Rashmikant and Partners appeared for Malik.Additional Solicitor-General Anil Singh with advocates Hiten Venegaonkar, Aditya Thakkar, Shriram Shirshat, DP Singh, Pranav Thackur and Amandeep Singh appeared for the ED..[Read order]

Why the Bombay High Court refused interim relief to Nawab Malik in his habeas corpus plea

Neha Joshi

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