The Bombay High Court has questioned the basis for charges framed against former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land transaction in Kurla, after noting that his request for documents seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) but not relied upon by the prosecution was still pending before the trial court.
A single-judge bench of Justice Milind Jadhav was hearing Malik’s challenge to the order through which a special PMLA court framed charges against him and others on November 18, 2025. Malik had sought a complete list of documents seized by the ED that were not included among the materials relied upon by the prosecution, arguing that they were important to his defence.
Malik was arrested by the ED in 2022 in a money-laundering case arising from an NIA case concerning fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and his associates. The ED has alleged that Malik acquired a three-acre property at Goawala Compound in Kurla through a transaction involving Ibrahim’s late sister, Haseena Parkar, and a fabricated power of attorney. The agency’s chargesheet alleges that Rs 20 lakh was paid in a transaction dating to September 2005. These remain allegations and have not been finally adjudicated.
The ED has accused Malik of “indirectly funding the D-gang’s activities by usurping a prime piece of land in Kurla with the help of Dawood’s deceased sister, Haseena Parkar, by using a fabricated power of attorney.”
The agency has also claimed that the alleged arrangement followed the death of the property owner’s father, after which “nobody was looking after the said property”.
Malik’s lawyer, Kushal Mor, argued that the unrelied documents could have affected the decision to frame charges. The ED, however, has opposed the plea, maintaining that relevant investigation material was included in its prosecution complaint or chargesheet. The agency also said some documents sought by Malik may have been destroyed in a 2025 fire at its Ballard Estate office.
The High Court has scheduled the matter for further hearing on October 8. No final finding on the allegations has been made by the court at this stage.
Source: Hindustan Times
