Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, March 15: The Bombay high court on Tuesday dismissed an interim application in Nawab Malik’s habeas corpus plea, which sought his immediate release from Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody in the money laundering case he is facing.
It identified arguable issues that would require extensive hearings and stated that it was unlikely to grant the relief. The hearing of the matter was concluded on March 11 by a division bench comprising justices Prasanna Varale and Shriram Modak.
Malik’s arrest on February 23 and subsequent remand to ED, according to the petition, was invalid because the claimed offence occurred before the passage of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and hence its provisions could not be enforced retroactively.
Malik’s lawyer, Amit Desai, said that a special court erred in remanding his client in ED custody because it failed to examine the PMLA’s retrospective application. As a result, he continued, Malik’s detention was illegitimate, and he should be released immediately.
An offence under the PMLA, according to Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, comprised laundering, knowledge of laundering, and possession of property obtained with laundered money. He referenced the PMLA’s provisions, claiming that because laundering and possession were still going on, the law’s application in this case could not be considered retrospective.
