Mumbai: Special court in Mumbai while remanding the Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik to Enforcement Directorate custody till March 3, observed that sufficient time would be required for investigating the proceeds of crime which traversed over the last 20 years.
On Wednesday Malik was remanded to ED custody, but it is only now that the detailed order is out. Malik was arrested by the ED on Wednesday for investigating charges that Malik had allegedly purchased a property at a rate lower than market value from underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s men. This charge was based on the claims of former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The hearing which lasted four hours, the special judge under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) held that Malik’s custodial interrogation was necessary to unearth all ramifications involved in the crime. ED had sought 14 day custody, the court granted it for eight days. “It is imperative to note that custodial interrogation of the accused is necessary to collect seized, recovered documents at the instance of the accused. The proceeds of crime have traversed in the last 20 years and more. Therefore, sufficient time is required to be granted for the investigation of the offence,” the order stated.
The Enforcement Directorate has submitted prima facie Malik seemed guilty amid the offence of money laundering, and his custody requires confrontation with other persons whose statements had been recorded during the investigation under the PMLA.
On the other hand, Malik stating that the entire case was hit by Article 20 of the Constitution which prohibited retrospective application of the PMLA, had opposed the remand. It was also contended that under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, he was illegally arrested without notice.
The special judge concluded, after reverting to the facts of the case, and the material on record, that there was material to indicate that Malik was in possession of the property. The court deduced that it cannot be stated that no offence can be made out against Malik.
The court further noted that the grounds for arrest were communicated to Malik, which meant there was substantial compliance with the provisions of the PMLA. From the report, the court deduced that Malik didn’t show any cooperation during the investigation on the crucial aspect and prima facie there were grounds to believe that the accusations are well-founded under the PMLA.
Having regard to the serious allegations and statements in support of it, the court opined that custodial interrogation of the accused was necessary to unearth all the ramifications involved in the crime, and accordingly, Malik was remanded to ED custody.
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