The Directorate of Enforcement told the Bombay High Court on Tuesday that it will continue its statement that it will not arrest IRS officer and former NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede till March 1 in the alleged money laundering case. The court accepted the ED’s statement and has asked the investigating agency to produce the ECIR on that day.
A bench of Justices PD Naik and NR Borkar accepted the statement and asked the investigating agency to produce a copy of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) on March 1.
The HC was hearing a petition filed by Wankhede challenging the registration of the ECIR against him. As an interim relief, he sought a stay on the probe and protection from any coercive action.
The ED registered a money laundering case against Wankhede following a CBI FIR for allegedly demanding Rs 25 crore from actor Shah Rukh Khan for not arresting his son Aryan Khan in the Cordelia Cruise drug bust case in October 2021.
The ED, on February 15, had told the court that it will not arrest Wankhede till February 20, and the statement was extended today.
Advocate Sandesh Patil, appearing for ED, told the court that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta would be arguing the case and sought adjournment. “My earlier statement of no arrest or coercive action would stand extended till the time the plea is taken up for hearing,” Patil told the court.
The bench accepted the statement and posted the plea for hearing on March 1.
The court also adjourned till March 27 another petition filed by Wankhede last year against the case of extortion and bribery lodged against him by the CBI.
ED's case "smacks of malice and vendetta": Wankhede
Wankhede, in his plea, had alleged that the ED's case "smacks of malice and vendetta". He had also alleged that the ECIR was filed last year but the summons were issued this year after he filed a complaint against NCB's deputy director Gyaneshwar Singh last month before a Delhi court seeking action against him under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
He further alleged that Singh and a few powerful people in power have unleashed all agencies like the CBI, ED and NCB to fix him in some cases.
