NCB’s law officer files defamation case against Wankhede

MUMBAI: Japan Babu, an additional legal advisor in the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), has filed a criminal complaint alleging that former Mumbai zonal director of the agency, Sameer Wankhede, has falsely claimed before Bombay High Court that he had a conversation with Babu regarding inclusion of Aryan Khan’s name in the draft charge-sheet in the Cordelia drugs bust case, which ultimately never saw the light of day.

In his complaint filed before the Patiala House court in Delhi on October 6, Babu claimed that he never had any conversation with Wankhede on the topic pertaining to Aryan Khan and said the claims made by Wankhede were false and a figment of his imagination.

In Wankhede’s petition filed in Bombay high court for quashing of the case against him and some other persons, he has claimed that on June 2, 2022, he had a 10-minute phone conversation with Babu, who was then a Deputy Legal Advisor with the NCB. Wankhede and four others are facing corruption and extortion charges in connection with alleged irregularities linked to the Cordelia case’s initial investigation by the NCB Mumbai team.

The CBI case was registered against Wankhede, Vishwa Vijay Singh, then NCB superintendent, and Ashish Ranjan, then intelligence officer of the NCB’s Mumbai zonal unit, as well as individuals namely KP Gosavi, Sanville D’Souza, and unknown persons. The agency accused the five people of conspiring to extort ₹25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan in lieu of not booking his son Aryan in the case and subsequently obtaining a bribe of ₹50 lakh from the actor.

Referring to the Cordelia case, Babu’s complaint said, “In response to the charges of bribery and extortion, the accused (Wankhede) had filed a writ petition before the Bombay High Court to grant him protection from arrest. In this petition, the accused has malafidely pleaded that the complainant (Babu) informed him that charges were proposed against Aryan Khan in the original draft complaint prepared by the complainant in his capacity of Deputy Legal Advisor and apart from this, the complainant in his report has suggested a few sections against Aryan Khan. However, the said draft was never submitted in the court and further the (NCB’s) SIT got a separate draft prepared from outside which was presented before the court.”

The complaint further said, “It was further stated in the accused’s pleadings that in a voice conversation with the complainant, the complainant had mentioned that the charge of section 27 of the NDPS was against Aryan Khan also, but Aryan Khan was given a clean chit in the chargesheet, and the note given by the complainant has disappeared.”

“The allegations of the accused that the complainant has given these statements are completely false and are only the creation of the accused’s imagination. It is submitted that complainant has never had any such conversation on such topic with the accused,” Babu’s complaint said.

The complaint alleged that Wankhede was trying to involve other officers “to save his own skin”.

It added, “(Babu) is a public servant who has served his department with utmost sincerity, honesty and with dedication. The complainant, being an Indian Legal Service officer and previously a public prosecutor, enjoys a very good reputation among his peers and colleagues and society in general. Such statements which are completely false have the potential to tarnish the image and reputation of complainant.”

Babu said that Wankhede’s action allegedly amounted to defamation, under section 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code, as he intentionally made false statements about him, knowing that such imputation will harm the reputation of the complainant and tarnish his image as an honest government officer.