Nawab Malik: Mumbai court cancels non-bailable warrant against NCP leader in defamation complaint filed by BJP worker | Mumbai News – Times of India

MUMBAI: A magistrate court in Mumbai took the decision to nullify a previously issued non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Nawab Malik, a prominent leader from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and a former minister in Maharashtra.
The warrant had been issued in response to a defamation complaint lodged against him by a BJP worker named Mohit Bharatiya in 2021. The court has adjourned the matter to October 25, at which point evidence will be recorded.
Additional metropolitan magistrate S B Kale, presiding over the Mazgaon court, had issued the NBW against Nawab Malik in the previous month due to his failure to appear before the court. However, the NBW was revoked after Malik made his appearance in court on Tuesday.
The case dates back to October 2021 when Mohit Bharatiya filed a complaint against Malik, accusing him of making unfounded remarks regarding the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) drug seizure case involving the son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, Aryan Khan. In his complaint, Bharatiya sought the registration of a case against Malik under Indian Penal Code sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation).
In his complaint, Bharatiya alleged that Malik, during a press conference on the NCB’s actions, deliberately and with malice, defamed him and his brother-in-law Rishab Sachdev. Bharatiya contended that Malik abused his influential position to tarnish his and his family’s reputation by making baseless accusations without providing any evidence to substantiate these damaging claims.
It’s worth noting that Nawab Malik faced legal trouble of his own when the Enforcement Directorate arrested him in February 2022. He was allegedly linked to the activities of the fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates. Currently, Malik is out on interim bail granted to him last month by the Supreme Court, citing medical grounds.
(With inputs from PTI)