While specifically denying that he has not breached his undertaking to the Bombay High Court, Maharashtra state minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik has alleged that IRS officer Sameer Wankhede’s father has made false additions in the transcript submitted to the court in is contempt plea.
Malik, who was physically present in HC following a show-cause notice issued to him over the plea filed by Dnyandev Wankhede, submitted an affidavit denying all allegations of having been in contempt of the court.
A division bench of Justices S J Kathawalla and Milind Jadhav took Malik's reply affidavit on record and asked Dnyandev to file a rejoinder (additional affidavit replying to Malik’s affidavit).
Malik has filed an affidavit alleging that there were “false insertions/additions” to the transcripts cited by Dnyandev wherein words “Wankhede” and “Sameer Wankhede” were added at different places to make it look as if Malik had mentioned those words in the press conference.
Malik has cited seven instances where these words have been inserted and sought dismissal of Dnyandev’s contempt plea.
His affidavit reads: “I say and submit that the petition should not be entertained and should be dismissed… petitioner in paragraphs 5(o) (ii) and (iii) of the petition purported to extract portions of transcripts of my statements on 2nd and 3rd Jan after deliberately inserting the name of ‘Sameer Wankhede’ or ‘Wankhede’ at a number of places, where it was not mentioned.”
Besides, Malik had stated that the division bench of HC had disposed of Dnyandev’s plea earlier and referred the matter back to the single judge. In view of this, the division bench cannot entertain the contempt plea.
Dnyandev had filed a contempt plea claiming that despite an undertaking given to the court in December 2021, to refrain from making defamatory public comments and social media posts against Wankhede, Malik continued doing so.
Malik has further said in the affidavit that while giving such undertaking, his counsel had told the court that his undertaking would not constrain him from making public statements against the conduct of central government officers that were in breach of their official duties.
"The comments and TV interviews mentioned by Dnyandev in the contempt plea came within the purview of the above concession and therefore, "not in breach of his undertaking," he said.
"The contempt jurisdiction cannot be used for my statements on public officers and the performance of their official duties. I submit that this contempt petition is dismissed with costs," read his affidavit.
The minister has also said that though he had spoken about Sameer Wankhede’s caste certificate being illegal, it was because such illegality was the very premise of the complaint filed by him against the former NCB zonal director before the state caste scrutiny committee.
