The Bombay High Court on Tuesday extended till January 10 interim relief to IRS officer and former NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede from coercive action in an alleged extortion and bribery case registered by the CBI.
The case against Wankhede
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered a case against Wankhede for allegedly demanding Rs 25 crore to not include the name of Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, in the Cordelia cruise drug bust case.
The HC is hearing a petition filed by Wankhede seeking quashing of the CBI case against him alleging that he was being targeted. In May, the HC granted Wankhede interim protection from coercive action.
High court to hear the plea on January 10 & 11
The high court on Tuesday has said it will hear the plea on January 10 and 11.
CBI advocate Kuldeep Patil informed a division bench of Justices PD Naik and NR Borkar that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta would argue on behalf of the agency on January 10 or 11. Wankhede's counsel Aabad Ponda would argue on January 10.
The central agency had registered the case based on a written complaint issued to them by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
Background details of the case
On October 2, 2021, the NCB, then headed by Wankhede arrested Aryan Khan and others while boarding Cordelia cruise for alleged possession, consumption and trafficking of drugs. He was granted bail by the high court in November.
The probe was then transferred to SIT comprising officers from Delhi NCB. It subsequently filed its chargesheet, but did not name Aryan Khan as an accused in the case citing lack of evidence.
The SIT was also formed to probe the NCB officers for allegedly framing Aryan Khan.
