The Bombay High Court has granted an extension of temporary relief to Indian Revenue Service officer Sameer Wankhede, directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to refrain from taking any coercive action against him until June 28 in the ongoing corruption and extortion case. This decision came during a hearing on a petition filed by Wankhede seeking the quashing of the First Information Report (FIR) filed against him by the CBI.
The allegations against Wankhede revolve around an accusation that he demanded a bribe of ₹25 crore from actor Shah Rukh Khan in exchange for not arresting his son Aryan in the drug racket case from October 2021. The CBI prosecutor expressed concerns about the High Court's previous order of no coercive action, stating that it was prejudicing the agency.
During the hearing, the Division Bench of A.S. Gadkari and Justice Shivkumar Dige questioned the possibility of making an arrest without serving Wankhede a notice under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The court emphasized that issuing such a notice indicates an intention not to arrest him, or alternatively, requested the CBI to provide a statement committing to giving a 48-hour notice before any potential arrest.
As the CBI did not have the case diary at that moment, the court instructed the agency to produce the case diary and extended the interim relief to Wankhede until June 28.
Wankhede gained prominence following the high-profile raids conducted by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in October 2021, which resulted in the arrest of Aryan Khan and 19 others. The NCB claimed to have seized narcotics during the operation.
Seeking more clarity, the court requested the case diary to assess the stage of the investigation and the possibility of an arrest. The CBI's counsel informed the court that they would be able to present the diary on record on Monday.
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