Bombay HC to pass order on 22 Nov on plea by Sameer Wankhede's father against Nawab Malik

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday said it will pass its order on 22 November on a plea filed by Dnyandev Wankhede, father of NCB’s zonal director Sameer Wankhede, seeking interim reliefs against Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik, including an injunction prohibiting him from posting any defamatory content on social media against the anti-drug agency officer and his family. A single bench of Justice Madhav Jamdar on Thursday took on record additional documents submitted by Malik and Dnyandev Wankhede, related to the ongoing controversy over the NCB officer’s caste certificate. Among other things, the court took on record a school admission form and a school leaving certificate submitted by Malik that the NCP leader claimed belongs to Sameer Wankhede and shows that he was born a Muslim. Dnyandev Wankhede submitted a set of counter documents that included his son’s birth certificate and his caste certificate allegedly showing that he indeed belongs to a Scheduled Caste. The high court directed both the parties to refrain from submitting any fresh documents until it pronounces its order on 22 November. Malik has been alleging that Sameer Wankhede, though born a Muslim, had secured a central government job claiming to be from the SC category. But Wankhede has denied the allegations levelled against him. Wankhede’s father had filed a defamation suit against Malik earlier this month in the high court, seeking among other things that Malik be restrained from posting defamatory statements against him and his family on social media. He has also sought damages worth Rs 1.25 crore. Malik has been fiercely attacking Sameer Wankhede after the Narcotics Control Bureau’s raid on a cruise party last month following which around 20 people, including actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, were arrested. Aryan Khan and some other accused were later released on bail.