Bombay High Court Extends Sameer Wankhede’s Interim Protection from Arrest Until June 23 in the Extortion and Bribery Case

The temporary protection from arrest given to Sameer Wankhede, the former director of the Mumbai zone of the NCB, in the CBI’s case of extortion and bribery against him, was extended by the Bombay High Court on Thursday till June 23.

According to the CBI’s evidence, Wankhede and four other suspects requested a Rs 25 crore payment from superstar Shah Rukh Khan in October 2021 in exchange for the actor’s son Aryan Khan not being implicated in the alleged seizure of cocaine from a cruise ship.

On June 23, the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) FIR in the matter will be heard by a division bench comprising Justices A S Gadkari and S G Dige.

Wankhede’s attorney Aabad Ponda informed the HC that the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) official had complied with a previous court order by making seven separate appearances before the CBI for questioning.

The case’s investigation, according to CBI attorney Kuldeep Patil, was at a critical point.

On June 23, the bench said that it will hear Wankhede’s appeal.

The court declared that the “interim relief granted stands extended until the next date.”

Last month, Wankhede filed a petition with the HC asking for the case to be dismissed and for temporary protection from any coercive measures.

Wankhede was later given temporary protection from arrest until June 8 by a vacation bench of the HC, who also ordered him to assist the inquiry.

In its affidavit submitted last week, the CBI demanded that the temporary protection be lifted since it had a strong case to make against Wankhede.

According to the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act dealing to bribery, Wankhede and the other accused parties in the case have been arrested on allegations of criminal conspiracy and extortion threats.

In October 2021, Aryan Khan and a number of other people were detained on suspicion of narcotics possession, use, and trafficking. After three weeks in prison, Aryan Khan was later granted bail by the high court.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) then submitted their chargesheet, but left Aryan off because to a lack of supporting evidence.

In order to conduct an investigation into the matter and against its own personnel, the anti-drugs agency then established a special enquiry team.