SRK-Aryan bribery case: Bombay HC extends Wankhede’s interim relief till June 8

The Bombay High Court on Monday (May 22) extended till June 8 the interim protection granted to former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede in a bribery case related to Shah Rukh Khan and his son Aryan.

Wankhede is accused of demanding Rs 25 crore from Khan for not implicating Aryan in the Cordelia cruise drug bust case. Last Friday (May 19), the high court had directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) not to take any coercive action against the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer till May 22.

A Vacation Bench of justices Abhay Ahuja and MM Sathaye on Monday extended Wankhede’s interim protection from any coercive action, such as arrest, while hearing his plea seeking quashing of the CBI’s FIR against him.

The Bench also directed Wankhede to give an undertaking that he would not talk to the media about the case, appear before the CBI as and when called, and not tamper with evidence.

Charges against Wankhede

The CBI has recently booked Wankhede and four others for alleged criminal conspiracy and extortion threat, besides provisions pertaining to bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act, on a complaint by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

The agency has alleged that the NCB, Mumbai Zone, received information in October 2021 related to the consumption and possession of narcotics by various individuals on the private cruise ship and some of its officers conspired and obtained undue advantage in the form of bribes from the alleged accused.

The NCB arrested Aryan on October 3, 2021, after a raid on the Cordelia cruise ship. The Bombay High Court granted him bail after three weeks, as the NCB failed to substantiate its charges against him.

(With agency inputs)