The Bombay High Court on Thursday restrained the Narcotics Control Bureau from summoning its former zonal director Sameer Wankhede for questioning in connection with preliminary inquiries into alleged departmental irregularities.
A division bench comprising Justices Ajay Gadkari and Kamal Khata admitted a petition filed by Wankhede, a 2008-batch Indian Revenue Service officer, ordering that no summons be issued to him until his plea is fully heard and decided.
Scope Of Internal Enquiries
Wankhede approached the High Court in 2024 to challenge eight notices issued to him by the Narcotics Control Bureau between November 2023 and March 2024. The notices required him to appear before Deputy Director General Sanjay Singh, who is heading a preliminary probe into his conduct.
The anti-narcotics agency submitted to the court that internal inquiries were launched after receiving two anonymous complaints citing serious irregularities in two narcotics cases handled under Wankhede’s supervision.
One of the cases in question originated from the probe initiated after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June 2020. That investigation led to a broader inquiry into drug use in the film industry and resulted in charges of drug possession, consumption, and financing against actor Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, and 33 other individuals.
Counterclaims And Allegations
In his court petition, Wankhede characterized the preliminary inquiry as an act of vengeance. He alleged that the internal probes were instigated by former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik, claiming the politician held a personal grudge following Wankhede’s earlier arrest of Malik’s son-in-law, Sameer Khan, in a separate narcotics case.
Additional Legal Challenges
Wankhede remains subject to separate investigations by other federal agencies arising from an October 2, 2021, drug raid conducted on the Cordelia cruise ship.
The Central Bureau of Investigation booked Wankhede in May 2023 on extortion and bribery charges, alleging that he demanded Rs 25 crore to avoid implicating actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan Khan. The Narcotics Control Bureau later exonerated Aryan Khan, omitting his name from a charge sheet filed against 14 other accused individuals.
The Enforcement Directorate subsequently registered a money laundering case against Wankhede based on the corruption charges. Wankhede previously obtained interim protection from coercive action from the High Court in both the extortion and money laundering matters.
