The Bombay High Court has slammed the CBI for seeking the vacation of a previous order granting interim protection to IRS officer then NCB zonal director, Sameer Wankhede in a bribery case related to the Cordelia cruise drugs case.
A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Justice S G Dige on asked the CBI to submit its case diary in the case related to probe against Wankhede.
The court also questioned the CBI if it was going to arrest Sameer Wankhede. During the hearing, the bench asked the CBI, "Why are shying away to tell us if you are going to arrest? Don't play hide and seek".
It sought to know from the CBI about the coercive action it intended to take against Wankhede as it had already issued a notice under section 41A of CrPC (directing the accused to appear for a statement) and when the officer had already appeared before the agency seven times.
Wankhede, on his part, sought a direction to quash the case registered by the CBI on charge of Rs 25 crore bribery. In May, the court had granted him interim protection from any coercive action.
The central investigating agency, however, sought vacation of the interim order.
CBI's counsel Kuldeep Patil submitted that the investigators should be given a free hand.
"Arrest is the prerogative of the agency. What if in the future he does not cooperate," Patil asked.
The bench, however, pointed out that once a notice under section 41A is given, it means the agency does not intend to arrest.
"How can you (CBI) anticipate? Has the agency reached a conclusion that arrest is required," the bench asked.
Observing that the CBI must come clean, the bench said, "The insistence that after the 41A notice, the order of no coercive action be vacated creates serious doubt in our minds. Once a 41A notice is issued, where is the question of arrest? Is the 41A notice just a charade?"
Patil, for his part, said as of today, the CBI had not reached that conclusion.
The bench fixed the matter for further hearing on June 28. It also directed that the interim order of no coercive action would continue until then.
The bench also directed the CBI to produce its case diary on the next date of hearing as it sought to see the progress of the investigation.
Advocate Niles Ojha, appearing for a petitioner, sought to intervene in the case, by asking the court to direct the CBI to also investigate Shah Rukh Khan, Aryan Khan, and the actor's manager Pooja Dadlani in the case.
"The report of the NCB, on the basis of which the CBI case is lodged, is fabricated, and the CBI is blindly investigating. The petitioner is not supporting anyone, but the CBI should add Shah Rukh Khan, Aryan Khan, and Pooja Dadlani as accused in the case," Ojha said.
CBI counsel rejected the contention as frivolous, contending that the CBI probe was in its early stages. "Everything and everyone is being investigated. CBI knows how to investigate," Patil said.
The CBI lodged the FIR on May 11, 2023 on allegation of demand of Rs 25 crore from Bollywood's actor, Shahrukh Khan upon arrest of his son Aryan in a case in 2021.
Wankhede, who headed the probe team, filed the plea in the High Court for quashing the FIR lodged upon a complaint by the NCB, saying it has been registered after more than one and half year on blatantly false motive with ill-will to harass him, as the investigation was conducted under direct supervision and control of his seniors on hourly basis. He also said the Mumbai police had already conducted a probe on similar charges and closed the case.
