MUMBAI: The Bombay HC Wednesday allowed Sameer Wankhede, former zonal director of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), to amend his quashing petition to include prosecution of the “bribe giver” by CBI.
The CBI has registered an FIR against Wankhede and four others for allegedly demanding bribe to protect actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan in the cruise drug bust case of 2021. The NCB later dropped the case against Aryan who had been found with no cannabis in his possession.
Senior counsel Aabad Ponda for Wankhede told the HC that under a 2018 amendment to Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act – invoked against Wankhede and others – a “bribe giver is also required to be prosecuted and cannot be exonerated unless within seven days he files a complaint that he is being forced to give a bribe”. He said “a bribe giver is not prosecuted in this case, the bribe giver is let off”. Prior prosecution sanction mandated under the law before prosecuting any public servant for offence committed in discharge of official duties, was granted “by the NCB and not the CBI”.
On a plea by Kuldeep Patil, counsel for CBI, that new points raised by Wankhede be put in his petition, the HC granted leave to Wankhede to amend his plea and adjourned the matter to July 20. No coercive action will be taken against Wankhede till the next date of hearing.