Mumbai police informed the Bombay High Court about filing a ‘C-summary report’ in Sameer Wankhede’s case against Nawab Malik due to insufficient evidence. Wankhede alleged caste-based insults from Malik after his son-in-law’s arrest in a narcotics case. The court disposed of Wankhede’s petition but allowed him to challenge the closure report. Legal tensions persist between the two.
Mumbai: The Mumbai police have informed the Bombay High Court of their decision to file a ‘C-summary report’ in the case lodged by former NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede against senior NCP leader Nawab Malik under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The police cited a lack of evidence as the reason for the closure.
Wankhede had filed the complaint in 2022 with the Goregaon police, alleging defamatory remarks and caste-based insults made by Malik during interviews and on social media. The remarks reportedly followed the arrest of Malik’s son-in-law, Sameer Khan, in a narcotics case in 2021. Wankhede claimed that Malik’s comments were part of a sustained campaign to humiliate him and his family, questioning the authenticity of his caste certificate.
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On January 14, additional public prosecutor S.S. Kaushik informed a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale that the police had completed their investigation and found no evidence to support the allegations. The ‘C-summary report’ is filed when the police conclude that a case is neither true nor false, and there is insufficient evidence to proceed.
The court disposed of Wankhede’s petition, which had sought to transfer the investigation to the CBI and monitor its progress. However, it allowed him the option to challenge the closure report before the trial court.
“We have not gone into the merits of the petitioner’s complaint nor the investigation carried out by the police, and as such, all contentions of all parties are kept open,”
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the court noted in its order.
In December 2024, the high court had directed the police to investigate the case thoroughly. The police later added Sections 3(1)(q) and 3(1)(r) of the Atrocities Act, which deal with providing false information to harm or annoy a public servant and intentionally insulting or intimidating a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe member.
Wankhede, a member of the Mahar Scheduled Caste and an additional commissioner in the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services (DGTS), had also filed a complaint with the Scheduled Caste Commission in 2021, seeking action against Malik.
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The high court’s January 14 order emphasized that Wankhede could take “appropriate steps before the appropriate forum in accordance with the law.” This development comes amidst a backdrop of long-standing tensions between Wankhede and Malik, stemming from their legal and public disputes.
The filing of the closure report signals a turning point in this high-profile case, although it remains open for legal challenges and further scrutiny in court.
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