Wankhede was booked by Thane Police based on a complaint by excise department that he was holding a bar licence in his name since he was minor. The excise officers have alleged that he forged affidavits to obtain licence in 1997
Sameer Wankhede and Nawab Malik. File Pic
Sameer Wankhede, former zonal director of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), has moved the Bombay High Court to quash the FIR registered against him by Thane’s Kopri police station for forgery and other sections of the Indian Penal Code.
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Wankhede, in his application before the court, has alleged that the FIR has been registered against him on the behest of Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik, who is “misusing his post to target him since he was posted at NCB”.
The HC is likely to hear the matter on February 23.
Wankhede was booked by Thane Police based on a complaint by excise department that he was holding a bar licence in his name since he was minor. The excise officers have alleged that he forged affidavits to obtain licence in 1997.
In his application before the Bombay HC, Wankhede said, “Nawab Malik is misusing his political powers and has managed to initiate proceedings for the cancellation of permit room licence granted in respect of Sadhguru Bar and Restaurant. The said proceedings came to be maliciously instituted against the petitioner (Wankhede)at the instance of the said minister who has openly threatened the petitioner of false implications. The petitioner who is holding the permit room licence granted in the year 1997, has held the said licence without any breach or violation of the said licence conditions since last 25 years. Since the said proceedings are instituted at the instance of the said minister, various false and baseless grounds are taken by the District Collector, Thane, who has under the influence and at the instance of the said minister issued a show cause notice and has ultimately vide order dated 01/02/2022 cancelled the permit room licence granted in favour of the petitioner.”
The affidavit added, “The petitioner was 17 years of age when the alleged crime had taken place vide the mother of the petitioner. That, by virtue of the Petitioner being merely 17 years of age, he was not a major during the commission of the alleged crime. That, the law of the land does not acknowledge that a minor had the capacity in order to orchestrate the entire crime at hand. In fact, the petitioner was merely in college when the alleged offence is said to have taken place. That, the petitioner was merely signing documents where he was asked by his mother to sign.”
Wankhede also said it is clear that the registration of the present FIR is nothing but a result of the witch-hunt at the behest of the coalition government of the State of Maharashtra against him. The application also states that Wankhede has been summoned by Kopri Police station to appear before them on February 23 at 11 am along with relevant documents and the investigating officer has imposed four conditions on him.
The application also states that, Wankhede was a minor when the alleged offence had happened.
“The petitioner at the time of offence, if any, was 17 years old which is an admitted fact and as per the Provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, he has to be tried by the Juvenile Justice Board as per section 9 of the act. It is further submitted that as per section 2(k) of the said act the petitioner was a juvenile at the commission of the offence as per the documents and had not completed the age of 18 years and hence the petitioner cannot be tried,” reads the application.
Wankhede, through his lawyers, has prayed that the court should give direction that there should be coercive action against him.
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