Mumbai police are set to file a closure report in a case against senior NCP leader Nawab Malik, as informed to the Bombay High Court. The case, initiated by former NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, accused Malik of violating the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. However, due to a lack of substantial evidence, the police have decided to submit a ‘C Summary Report,’ indicating that the allegations were neither substantiated nor disproven.
This decision was communicated to a division bench consisting of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale by additional public prosecutor S S Kaushik on January 14. The report essentially suggests that the police investigation did not find credible evidence to support the claims against Malik.
Wankhede, currently an additional commissioner in the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services (DGTS) and a member of the Mahar Scheduled Caste, had earlier moved the High Court seeking intervention due to alleged police inaction. He had requested the transfer of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a more thorough probe.
The court, after reviewing the police’s findings, has disposed of Wankhede’s petition. While the court refrained from commenting on the merits of the case or the quality of the investigation, it noted that Wankhede retains the right to challenge the closure report in the appropriate forum as per the legal provisions.
The complaint, originally filed in August 2022 at the suburban Goregaon police station, cited that Malik made derogatory remarks against Wankhede and his family, targeting them based on their caste in various interviews and social media posts. Despite the serious nature of the allegations, no chargesheet has been filed, and Malik has not been arrested.
