Tag: Dhyandev Wankhede

  • Sameer Wankhede father’s defamation suit an attempt to hide illegalities: Nawab Malik to Bombay HC

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Tuesday told the Bombay High Court the defamation suit filed against him by Dhyandev Wankhede, father of NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede, was only an attempt to cover-up the “illegalities” committed by the IRS officer and claimed none of his statements against them was false.

    Malik submitted an affidavit in the HC in response to the defamation suit filed by Dhyandev Wankhede, seeking damages to the tune of Rs 1.25 crore and also an order restraining the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader from making any false or incorrect statements against the Wankhede family that would defame or harm their reputation.

    However, the minister in his affidavit said that none of the statements made by him was incorrect and that the evidence produced by him has in fact helped the government machinery take corrective steps against Sameer Wankhede, who had been handling some high-profile drugs case till recently, including the one in which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan is an accused.

    “Sameer Wankhede is facing vigilance inquiry and the Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has transferred a total of six cases from its Mumbai unit headed by zonal director Sameer Wankhede to its unit in Delhi,” the affidavit said.

    “Thus, initiation of action against Sameer Wankhede shows the authenticity of evidence produced by the defendant (Malik),” the NCP leader said, adding being a public representative he was only trying to expose the “illegalities” committed by Sameer Wankhede, a civil servant.

    “The plaintiff (Dhyandev Wankhede), by filing the present suit, is trying to curtail the freedom of expression granted to the defendant under Article 19 of the Constitution of India, which the defendant uses for public good,” the affidavit said.

    It added that the defamation suit was nothing but an attempt to cover up the “illegalities” committed by the plaintiff Dhyandev Wankhede’s son Sameer Wankhede. Malik sought dismissal of the defamation suit and said it was not maintainable as the plaintiff was seeking reliefs not just for himself but also his family members.

    The NCP leader, who has levelled a series of allegations against Sameer Wankhede – ranging from forgery to lying about his religion – said the plaintiff cannot file a representative suit on behalf of his family members. “The family members of the plaintiff have not initiated any legal proceedings controverting the evidence produced by the defendant (Malik),” the affidavit said.

    The 62-year-old politician said he has not made any false statements and has produced documentary evidence to support his claims. “In the circumstances, it is humbly submitted that the authenticity and admissibility of the evidence produced by the defendant can be decided only at the stage of trial,” the affidavit said.

    It added that Dhyandev Wankhede has failed to produce any documentary evidence in support his claims in the suit that the statements made by Malik are incorrect. “I (Malik) have produced the birth certificate of Sameer Wankhede, son of the plaintiff to show that Sameer Wankhede is a Muslim by birth and that he has secured a government job by falsely claiming to be from a Scheduled Caste,” the affidavit said.

    It added that as per the birth certificate, which has been issued by the municipal corporation, the name of Sameer Wankhede’s father is shown as Dawood Wankhede and religious identity as Muslim. “I say that if the said birth certificate issued by the municipal corporation is false then it is for the plaintiff or Sameer Wankhede to take corrective steps and pursue it with the civic authorities. If the birth certificate is false then the plaintiff should have produced the correct birth certificate,” the affidavit said.

    It further said the plaintiff has failed to show as to how the statements made by Malik were derogatory or defamatory. The minister further said several other persons, including a witness in the drugs-on-cruise case, have made allegations of attempts of extortion against Sameer Wankhede, a 2008-batch IRS officer.

    A vacation bench of Justice Madhav Jamdar is scheduled to hear the suit on Wednesday (November 10).

    The suit has sought an order declaring Malik’s statements as defamatory in nature and a permanent injunction restraining the NCP leader from publishing or making statements before the media, including his social media accounts.

    The suit has stated that the statements by Malik that Wankhede is a Muslim amounted to questioning the religious beliefs of the family by disputing they are not Hindus. It claimed that Malik’s statements caused an irreparable loss, damage, harm, prejudice to the name, character, reputation and societal image of the Wankhede family.

    The suit also sought directions to the state minister to take back all defamatory statements made by him so far and also to delete his tweets posted against the plaintiff and his family members. Sameer Wankhede had last month led a raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast after which the NCB claimed to have seized drugs onboard.

    Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan and 19 others were later arrested in connection with the cruise drugs case. Some of the accused, including Aryan Khan, are currently out on bail. Malik has repeatedly termed the cruise drugs case as “fake” and levelled a string of allegations against the IRS officer, who has denied his charges.

  • ‘Nawab Malik made false comments against us’: Sameer Wankhede’s father files complaint

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: NCB Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede’s father Dhyandev Wankhede has filed a police complaint here against Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik for allegedly making “false and derogatory” remarks against him and his family members and their caste, an official said on Tuesday.

    The senior Wankhede approached the Oshiwara division’s assistant commissioner of police on Monday with his written complaint, demanding that an FIR be registered against the minister under the SC/ST Act, he said.

    The complainant alleged that NCP leader Malik made “false and derogatory” remarks against him and his family members as well as their caste on various media platforms.

    “We belong to ‘Mahar’ community which comes under the Scheduled Caste category,” he mentioned in the complaint.

    He demanded that an FIR be registered against the minister under provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections including 503 (criminal intimidation).

    He further alleged that Malik, owing to his personal grudge, went to the extent of “stalking” his daughter Yasmeen online and illegally used her personal photographs from her social media accounts like Instagram, Facebook, etc and circulated them in print and electronic media.

    The complainant also said the minister made an unfounded allegation against his daughter and family members of being involved in extortion while they were in Maldives.

    Now, the minister is giving “direct threats” and using “illegal tactics” to hinder the investigation into the case involving his son-in-law (Sameer Khan) where he is likely to convicted, the senior Wankhede alleged.

    Malik’s son-in-law was arrested in January this year in an alleged drugs case and granted bail in September.

    The complainant claimed Malik was using all his powers against him and his family members.

    Dhyandev Wankhede also said that to prove his claims, he has the footage and articles put out by the minister on various media platforms.

    An official from the assistant commissioner of police’s confirmed that they have received Dhyandev Wankhede’s complaint, and said further investigation is underway.

    The senior Wankhede has also filed a defamation suit against Malik, seeking damages to the tune of Rs 1.

    25 crore from the minister for allegedly making defamatory comments against his son, Sameer Wankhede and family through press conferences and via social media.

    The Bombay High Court on Monday directed Malik to submit an affidavit in response to the defamation suit.

    , An NCB team led by Sameer Wankhede last month conducted a raid on a cruise ship and claimed to have seized drugs onboard.

    Later, actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and 19 others were arrested in connection with the cruise drugs case.

    Malik has termed the cruise drugs case as “fake” and levelled a string of allegations against Sameer Wankhede, including that he used forged documents to secure government job.

    The NCB official has denied the allegations levelled against him.

  • High Court seeks Nawab Malik’s response on defamation suit filed by NCB officer Sameer Wankhede’s father

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday directed Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik to submit an affidavit in response to a defamation suit filed by Dhyandev Wankhede, the father of Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede.

    A vacation bench of Justice Madhav Jamdar asked Malik to file his affidavit by Tuesday, and posted the matter for further hearing on Wednesday.

    “You (Malik) file your reply by tomorrow. If you can reply on Twitter, you can reply here also,” Justice Jamdar said, without passing any order restraining Malik from making any further statements against the plaintiff (Dhyandev Wankhede).

    Advocate Arshad Shaikh, appearing for Dhyandev Wankhede, told the court that everyday some false and defamatory statement is being made by the defendant (Malik) which then leads to further comments on social media that are further defamatory.

    “Just this morning, the defendant has posted a tweet about Sameer Wankhede’s sister-in-law,” Shaikh argued, adding that at least till the matter is heard, the court should either direct Malik or he should himself restrain from making any further statements.

    Malik’s advocate Atul Damle, while seeking time to file an affidavit to the suit, told the court that the plaintiff cannot speak on behalf of his adult children and also cannot attribute to Malik what other persons have commented on social media.

    Dhyandev Wankhede, in his suit, has sought damages to the tune of Rs 1.25 crore from Malik for allegedly making defamatory comments against his son Sameer Wankhede and family through press conferences and via social media.

    The suit has sought an order declaring Malik’s statements as defamatory in nature and a permanent injunction restraining the NCP leader from publishing or making statements before the media, including his social media accounts.

    The suit stated that the statements by Malik that Wankhede is a Muslim amounted to questioning the religious beliefs of the family by disputing that they are not Hindus.

    It claimed that Malik’s statements caused an irreparable loss, damage, harm, prejudice to the name, character, reputation and societal image of Wankhede and his family.

    The suit also sought directions to Malik to take back all defamatory statements made by him so far and also to delete all his tweets posted against the plaintiff and his family members.

    Sameer Wankhede had last month led a raid on a cruise ship and the NCB claimed to have seized drugs onboard.

    Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and 19 others were later arrested in connection with the cruise drugs case.

    Malik has repeatedly termed the cruise drugs case as “fake” and levelled a string of allegations against the NCB officer.