A special court allowed the petition filed by senior NCP leader and Minister of State Nawab Malik To sign letters relating to allocation of funds for public welfare while in custody. Malik, arrested in February by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case, had sought permission to sign seven letters, stating that he wanted to address concerns on behalf of his constituents.
The ED opposed the plea saying that under the guise of signing the letter on the pretext of official correspondence, Malik could communicate to people in his office and influence the ongoing investigation. The agency also said that it feared that he may tamper with the evidence. Advocate Tarak Syed, representing Malik, said that Malik, as an MLA, needed to sign the letters for allocation of funds.
“The applicant in the capacity of the Member of Legislative Assembly wants to address the concerns on the part of the constituents and solve the problems by directing the allocation of funds for the public welfare. A perusal of the letters reveals that the said letters have nothing to do with money laundering. The applicant wants to allocate funds for public welfare. Even if the applicant is allowed to sign those letters, it will not affect the merits of the case,” said special judge RN Rokade.
The court allowed the letters to be signed in the presence of the ED officer.