Bombay HC Permits Sameer Wankhede To Amend Plea, Prosecute Bribe Giver

The Bombay High Court has recently granted permission to Sameer Wankhede, former Mumbai Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), to amend his petition and add additional grounds. One of the newly included grounds states that those who offer or give bribes should also be prosecuted.

Wankhede, an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer on deputation with the NCB, was charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) with extortion and bribery in the high-profile drugs-on-cruise case. It is alleged that Wankhede, along with four other accused, demanded a bribe of Rs 25 crore from actor Shah Rukh Khan to avoid implicating his son, Aryan, after drugs were seized from a cruise ship.

During the hearing, Wankhede’s lawyers argued these issues, while the CBI pointed out that they were not part of the original petition. Wankhede’s legal team maintained that these were legal matters and did not necessarily need to be included in the petition.

However, upon insistence from the CBI, the bench of Justices AS Gadkari and SG Dige allowed Wankhede to amend his plea once again to include the additional grounds. The amended petition will now encompass relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which state that individuals who offer or give bribes to public servants to gain undue advantage shall also be prosecuted.

The court has scheduled the plea for further hearing on July 20 and instructed the CBI to respond to the amended plea by that date. In the meantime, the interim protection granted to Wankhede has been extended until July 20.

Wankhede and the other accused in the case face charges of criminal conspiracy and extortion under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act related to bribery.

Aryan Khan, the son of Shah Rukh Khan, along with several others, was arrested in October 2021 on allegations of drug possession, consumption, and trafficking. Aryan Khan was later granted bail by the high court after spending three weeks in jail.

The case was subsequently transferred to a special investigation team of the NCB, which filed its chargesheet without naming Aryan as an accused due to lack of evidence. The NCB then established a special team to investigate the case, including its own officers.