The Supreme Court on Friday sought the National Investigation Agency’s response to the bail plea of Shabbir Abubakar Shaikh, accused of links with the alleged D-Company network. A Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the NIA and granted it four weeks to respond.

Appearing for Shaikh, Senior Advocate Mehmood Pracha submitted that his client has been in custody since May 2022, while charges have not yet been framed. He pointed out that the chargesheet runs into around 8,000 pages and names 137 witnesses.

ASG SV Raju, appearing for the NIA, sought time to file a detailed response. The NIA alleges that Shaikh acted on instructions of Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel and was involved in extorting around ₹16 crore between 2008 and 2018. It further alleges that he received ₹25 lakh through hawala in April 2022, retaining ₹5 lakh and passing the remaining amount to another accused.

Shaikh was arrested in May 2022. His bail plea was rejected by the Special NIA Court in December 2024, and the Bombay High Court dismissed his appeal in April 2026, finding prima facie material indicating his alleged link with the organised crime syndicate.

The Supreme Court has now issued notice.