The Bombay High Court Today (April 1st) stopped any actions against IRS officer Sameer Wankhede until April 10th regarding notices from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court Today stated that no action will be taken against IRS officer Sameer Wankhede until April 10 regarding notices issued to him by the NCB. These notices are related to the NCB’s preliminary inquiry into irregularities in a drugs case linked to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The NCB launched this inquiry against Wankhede in connection with Rajput’s case and another involving the arrest of a Nigerian national for drug possession. These actions were prompted by anonymous complaints of irregularities in the investigations.
After the death of Rajput in June 2020, the NCB initiated an investigation into suspected drug use within the film industry.
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The agency later filed a case against Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, and 33 others for alleged possession, consumption, and financing of drugs related to Rajput.
From November 2023 to March 2024, the NCB issued eight notices to IRS officer Wankhede, instructing him to appear before Deputy Director General Sanjay Singh, who leads the preliminary inquiry.
Wankhede filed a petition in the HC last week challenging the inquiry and the notices, alleging he was being unfairly targeted.
A division bench led by Justice Revati Mohite Dere’s on Monday ordered the NCB to reply to the plea by April 10 and directed no coercive action against Wankhede until then. Wankhede’s lawyer, Rajiv Chavan, argued that Singh is unsuitable to lead the inquiry against Wankhede.
Chavan stated,
“During the investigation of these cases, including the Sushant Singh Rajput case, Wankhede, who served as the agency’s western region zonal director at the time, would seek approvals from Singh, his superior officer. Therefore, Singh is not eligible to lead this inquiry,”
He also added,
“Wankhede took all actions in both cases only after obtaining approval from Singh and other superior officers,”
NCB’s advocate, Manisha Jagtap, argued that Wankhede cannot select the officer to conduct the inquiry against him. In his plea, Wankhede also asserted that NCB should not start inquiries based on anonymous complaints.
The Plea Stated,
“The NCB’s dependency on allegations from a wanted accused is outrageous and a desperate attempt to validate an anonymous complaint aimed solely at harming the petitioner (Wankhede) in reputation and well-being,”
Wankhede, a 2008-batch IRS officer from the Customs and Indirect Taxes cadre, also charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in May last year. The charges included extortion and bribery allegations, where he was accused of allegedly demanding Rs 25 crore to avoid implicating actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan Khan, in a drug bust case on a cruise ship.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also filed a money laundering case against him afterward.
Wankhede appealed to the HC regarding both cases and received temporary protection from any coercive measures.