BREAKING| Supreme Court Agrees To Grant Urgent Listing For Nawab Malik's Plea Against ED Arrest

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to grant urgent listing to the petition filed by Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal requested the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana to grant urgent listing for the petition."This is the Nawab Malik matter where ED is taking proceedings. The Act came into place in 2005, and the transaction is prior to 2000. A transaction from 22 years ago is sought to be proceeded...", Sibal submitted."Yes, we will list", the CJI said.The ED arrested the Minorities Development Minister on February 23 based on an FIR registered against global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, alleging Malik's "involvement in terror funding" based on a 1999-2005 land deal involving Dawood Ibrahim's late sister Haseena Parkar. He has been under custody ever since his arrest, with the Special PMLA Court at Mumbai extending his remand from time to time.Malik has filed the Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court's order of March 15, 2022, refusing interim release in a habeas corpus petition filed on the ground that his arrest was "completely illegal".While rejecting Malik's prayer for interim relief the HC had observed that "certain debatable issues are required to be heard at length," however, requirements of arrest under section 19 of PMLA were prima facie complied with.Significantly, it had also observed that, prima facie, claiming that a property is untainted would amount to an offence under section 3 of the PMLA 2002.Malik claims that since his petition was strictly on the law, the HC couldn't have given a prima facie finding regarding section 3 of PMLA without reasoning."The High Court also already having taken a prima facie view that debatable issues arose, could not have then gone on to take a contrary prima facie view on Section 3 of PMLA, without any reasoning as to how in the present case, there was any predicate offence, let alone any offence under PMLA with regard to the Petitioner."The ED alleged that Parkar and Malik usurped a property in Kurla from one Munira Plumber. In 2003 Malik, through his family, bought a company called Solidus Investments Private Limited – which was also a tenant on the concerned property. He then, through Solidus, paid Parkar the money to get ownership rights for the land in 2003 and September 2005. And since Parkar was allegedly a part of Dawood's gang, the money paid to her became proceeds of crime, the ED claimed.Click Here To Read/Download Order

BREAKING| Supreme Court Agrees To Grant Urgent Listing For Nawab Malik's Plea Against ED Arrest

Srishti Ojha

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