Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday asked Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik, former regional director of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Sameer Wankhede. (Former NCB Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede)’s father Gyandev Wankhede’s father sought a reply on the contempt petition (Defamation Case).
A bench of Justices S J Kathawala and Milind Jadhav also asked why Malik was repeatedly taking concessions with the affidavit given to the High Court for not making any defamatory remarks against the Wankhede family. The bench said that if the minister continues to misuse the concession in this manner, the court will withdraw it. Last month, Gyandev Wankhede had filed a contempt petition against Malik in the High Court. It alleged that the minister willfully violated his promise to the court in December last year not to make any derogatory remarks against the Wankhede family or to post it on social media.
Gyandev Wankhede had filed a suit in the High Court last year, seeking to restrain Malik from posting any public remarks or social media that are derogatory to him, his son Sameer or his family. In his contempt petition, Gyandev Wankhede claimed that Malik had violated his promise and made objectionable remarks recently on January 2 and 3 this year. On Thursday, Gyandev’s counsel senior advocate Birender Saraf referred to certain remarks related to actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in connection with the seizure of caste certificate and narcotics from cruise ship against Sameer Wankhede after Malik gave his affidavit.
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After perusing Malik’s remarks, Justice Kathawalla said the court would withdraw it if the minister was to misuse the concession in this manner. “If you take the concession with this intention, we will withdraw the concession,” the bench asked. You (Malik) directly or indirectly want to defame him (Wankhede). What is your intention?”
Malik’s counsel Ramesh Dubey said the minister wanted to file his reply to show that these statements fall within the purview of concession (only remarks about the discharge of official duties of a public official). The high court directed Malik to file his reply and posted the matter for next hearing on February 7.