The Delhi High Court on Friday stayed the quashing of disciplinary proceedings against Sameer Wankhede, the former zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau in Mumbai, in connection with the 2021 Cordelia cruise drugs case, reported Live Law.
Wankhede is accused of demanding Rs 25 crore as a bribe in the case related to the alleged seizure of drugs on the Cordelia cruise ship, following which actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested in 2021.
While some media reports claim that Wankhede sought the bribe for not framing Aryan Khan, some suggest he sought it from the owners of the Cordelia ship.
On January 19, the Central Administrative Tribunal quashed a charge memorandum against Wankhede, holding that there were several procedural lapses in the action.
It held that the action was an act of “retaliation” and “personal vendetta”, Live Law reported.
The August 19 memorandum had alleged that, despite not being attached to the Narcotics Control Bureau, Wankhede had attempted to access confidential information and influence the course of the investigation, according to Hindustan Times.
On Friday, a High Court bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Amit Mahajan allowed the Centre’s petition challenging the January order.
The 2021 Cordelia cruise case
On October 2, 2021, Aryan Khan was arrested along with his friend Arbaaz Merchant, model Munmun Dhamecha and others after a raid on Cordelia cruise ship off the coast of Mumbai.
The agency had claimed to recover several narcotic substances from the ship.
On October 28, 2021, the Bombay High Court granted bail to Aryan Khan and others, noting that he was not found in possession of drugs and that there was no evidence of a conspiracy.
In May 2022, the Narcotics Control Bureau cleared Khan of charges in the case as it did not find corroborative evidence against him.
Soon after, Wankhede was transferred to the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services in Chennai.
A Special Investigation Team was also set up to look into allegations of impropriety in the case by officers of the anti-drug agency.
In October 2022, the Special Investigation Team said it has found several irregularities in the investigation and also revealed that “selective treatment” was meted out when naming some persons as accused in the case.
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