[BREAKING] Nawab Malik Habeas Corpus plea: Bombay High Court to pronounce order on March 15

The Bombay High Court will pronounce its order on March 15, Tuesday in the Habeas Corpus plea filed by Maharashtra Cabinet Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik in the money laundering case initiated against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED)..A Bench of Justices PB Varale and SM Modak reserved its order on Friday and said that the order will be pronounced on Tuesday next week. .Senior Advocate Amit Desai made submissions in response to the submissions made by the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).Desai dealt with the concept of possession and what is a continuing offence depended on the item which was in possession. He compared possession of drugs to that of land or bank property.He stated that there are three persons in the offence of laundering - one who commits the theft, one who commits the laundering and one of possession.He concluded his submissions by stating that personal liberty of a man should not be taken away in the circumstances of the case."Habeas corpus is the 'brahmastra' of the judiciary, the most powerful weapon to uphold someone's liberty" Desai remarked..ASG gave the final rejoinder stating that his submissions on the possession and continuing offence are without prejudice to ED's contention of maintainability. .ED had arrested Malik on allegations that he had allegedly purchased a property from underworld don Dawood Ibrahim for an amount of ₹20 lakh (through a company controlled by him - Solidus Investments Pvt. Ltd.) which was lower than the market value (₹3.54 crore as per ready reckoner rate).Malik was allegedly picked up from his residence at 7 am on February 23 for interrogation after he was made to sign the summons issued to him by ED.After interrogation for over 8 hours, Malik was arrested and produced before Special PMLA Judge who remanded him to 8-day ED custody which was extended for 4 days, and eventually Malik has been remanded to judicial custody till March 21, 2022.In his plea filed through Rashmikant & Partners, Malik assailed the ECIR, the arrest and the remand terming it illegal.He stated that such illegal acts rendered his continued detention illegal and without jurisdiction entitling him to a writ of habeas corpus and immediate release.He also sought setting aside of the order of the special PMLA judge dated February 23 by which he was remanded to ED custody for 8 days..Desai appeared alongside Advocates Tareq Sayed, Kushal Mor briefed by Advocate Rohan Dakshini from Rashmikant & Partners.Singh appeared with Advocates Aditya Thakker and Pranav Thackur for ED..Read live updates of today's hearing here. Live updates for March 8 , March 9 and March 10 here.

[BREAKING] Nawab Malik Habeas Corpus plea: Bombay High Court to pronounce order on March 15

Neha Joshi

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