MUMBAI: A special PMLA court in Mumbai on Thursday rejected the pleas filed by Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik and former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh seeking a day's bail to vote in the Rajya Sabha elections to be held on Friday.
The lawyer of Deshmukh has requested a certified copy of the order as soon as possible so as to enable them to approach the High Court today. Deshmukh and Malik are currently lodged in jail in connection with different money laundering cases being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Deshmukh was arrested on November 1, 2021, in connection with extortion and money laundering allegations levelled against him by the former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. ED had arrested Minorities Development Minister Malik on February 23 over a property deal allegedly linked to the aides of gangster Dawood Ibrahim.
In the Rajya Sabha polls for six seats from Maharashtra, every vote is crucial for the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), of which the NCP is a constituent. After more than two decades, the state will witness a contest in the Rajya Sabha polls as there are seven candidates in the fray for the six seats.
The ruling Shiv Sena has fielded two candidates, its MVA allies NCP and Congress have nominated one candidate each, while the opposition BJP has put up three candidates.