Nawab Malik bail plea: Who is 'sick person' under PMLA for purpose of bail? Bombay High Court asks

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday queried whether Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, Nawab Malik could be considered a “sick person” under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), for the purpose of deciding Malik's bail plea in a money laundering case..Justice MS Karnik reasoned that the Court must first be satisfied about the medical condition of Malik in order to determine whether his bail plea should be urgently heard. “If I am not satisfied on medical grounds then you [Malik] will have to wait for your turn for hearing of your [bail] application on merits. There are many other urgent matters on board. I don't want anyone to say anything tomorrow,” the judge explained..Section 45 of PMLA lays down twin conditions for grant of bail where a non-bailable offence under PMLA has been registered. There is also an exception provided for cases where the Court is satisfied that the accused is under 16 years of age or is a woman or is sick or infirm..Justice Karnik noted that several applications were being filed before the Court where the accused claimed that they were ‘sick’ and unwell. Therefore, the judge sought clarity on who exactly can be termed a sick person for the purpose of granting bail under the PMLA. “I have some questions on this as many matters are coming up where the person [accused] says, grant me bail as I am sick. So I want to know what is a sick person. I want you [Malik and Enforcement Directorate] to argue on [definition of] sick person. Who will be a sick person?”, the Court queried..After this query was put to Senior Advocate Amit Desai who appeared for Malik and Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh who appeared for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Court posted the matter for further hearing on February 21..The ED had arrested Malik on allegations that he had purchased certain property at a rate lower than market value.After the Special PMLA Court took cognizance of the chargesheet in May 2022, Malik filed for regular bail.Malik moved High Court after a Mumbai special court had rejected his bail plea in the matter on November 30.In his plea, filed through Rashmikant & Partners, Malik stated that the Special Court had failed to take into consideration the observations made by the High Court in its order granting bail to former Maharashtra Home Minister, Anil Deshmukh.Malik also claimed that the Special Court had erred in disregarding Malik's medical condition.On December 13, 2022, the High Court had refused to grant urgent hearing after noting that Malik had been admitted to a private hospital and was receiving treatment.