The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said that it seems that Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik has "wilfully breached" his undertaking given to the HC last month on not making any public statements against Narcotics Control Bureau's Mumbai unit chief Sameer Wankhede and his family members.
Dnyandev Wankhede, father of NCB's zonal director Sameer Wankhede, on Wednesday approached the Bombay High Court challenging its single-judge bench order that had refused to restrain Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik from making comments and putting social media posts against the anti-drug agency officer and his family.
Dnyandev Wankhede, Sameer's father, has sought damages of Rs 1.25 crore from Malik and an order restraining him from making further false or incorrect statements against the Wankhede family.
The minister, however, henceforth, must make statements against Wankhede or his family only after "reasonable verification of facts," the HC said.
The order says that Wankhede belongs to Mahar caste, which is a Scheduled Caste (SC).
Senior counsel Aspi Chinoy, who appeared for Malik, submitted an affidavit by the minister where he apologized for having violated the court's November 29 order.
The assurance came after the high court asked the minister whether he has lodged a complaint with the caste scrutiny committee regarding his allegations against Sameer Wankhede's caste credentials, and said if he has not done so what was his intention behind the 'media publicity', which it said does not befit a minister.
Wankhede is facing the vigilance probe by NCB after an independent witness in the drugs-on-cruise case, in which Aryan Khan is one of the accused, claimed of overhearing a discussion of a Rs 25 crore pay-off, including Rs 8 crore for Sameer Wankhede.
'I had performed the 'nikah' of Sameer Wankhede and Shabana Qureshi. Her father had approached me to perform the marriage in the Lokhandwala complex area of Mumbai. The groom's name was Sameer Dawood Wankhede who married Shabana Qureshi'
"Is that Qazi above the Constitution? He should produce papers to show Sameer Wankhede had converted (to Islam) to marry his first wife," Redkar said, adding Wankhede had performed the 'nikah' in 2006 only to fulfil the wish of his late mother, who was Muslim.
Dr Zaheed Qureshi said that when his daughter Shabana married Sameer Wankhede, the latter practised Islam, and would occasionally visit mosques.
For some, he's a bully and probable 'blackmailer' who targeted the rich and famous, especially in Bollywood, for fame, and allegedly, ransom. For others, he's finally the one brave narc who decided to do his job, no matter how powerful his quarry, observes Shekhar Gupta.
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