On 1st March, the Bombay High Court granted Sameer Wankhede, former Mumbai NCB Director, an extended relief from arrest until March 27, adjourning the case to allow the ED time to respond to his challenge of the ECIR. Wankhede contests the charges and awaits further examination on March 27.
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MUMBAI: On 1st March, the Bombay High Court granted an extension of relief from arrest to Sameer Wankhede, the former Mumbai Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), until March 27. The court adjourned the matter to the specified date, allowing the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) additional time to respond to Wankhede’s petition challenging the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) filed against him.
An ECIR is a formal record of a complaint lodged by the ED, and Wankhede has vehemently contested the charges presented in it. His plea to quash the case is now slated for further examination on March 27, coinciding with a scheduled hearing involving the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Wankhede.
ALSOREAD: Aryan Khan Case: ED Assures Bombay High Court: “Sameer Wankhede Won’t Face Arrest Until March 1”
The Bombay High Court informed that the Solicitor General would personally appear in both matters during the upcoming hearing.
This legal saga began on February 10 when the Enforcement Directorate initiated a money laundering case against Wankhede, citing a CBI FIR that alleged a demand of Rs 25 crore bribe from actor Shah Rukh Khan’s family. The alleged bribe was purportedly to spare Khan’s son in the drugs-on-cruise case.
Wankhede expressed surprise and raised objections as the ED’s ECIR was rooted in the CBI FIR, a matter currently under scrutiny before the Bombay High Court. This intricate legal web has woven itself around the controversies stemming from last year when the CBI booked Wankhede for supposedly demanding a hefty bribe of Rs 25 crore to refrain from framing Aryan Khan, Shah Rukh Khan’s son, in the drugs-on-cruise case.
According to the CBI, the deal was eventually settled for Rs 18 crore. Moreover, the agency asserted that Wankhede’s assets did not align proportionately with his known sources of income. The FIR specifically highlighted his inability to justify expenses incurred during a foreign visit.
ALSOREAD: Enforcement Directorate (ED) Agrees Not to Arrest Ex-NCB Director Wankhede Until Next Hearing
The Bombay High Court’s decision to extend the relief from arrest to Sameer Wankhede underscores the complexity of the case. With the Solicitor General’s personal involvement anticipated in the upcoming hearing.
