Bombay HC to hear defamation suit filed by Sameer Wankhede’s father against Nawab Malik on Wednesday

The Bombay High Court on Monday directed Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik to file his reply to the defamation suit filed by Dhyandev Kachruji Wankhede, father of Sameer Wankhede, Mumbai zonal director of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

Advocate Arshad Shaikh, appearing for Wankhede, agreed that while it was important for replies to be filed in defamation matters, Malik could in the meanwhile make a statement to not put up anything defamatory on any media till the matter is heard by the High Court.

“Everyday something or the other is posted hence I am here. Today morning only Malik put a tweet supposedly about Sameer Wankhede’s sister-in-law," Shaikh submitted, as per a Bar & Bench report.

Senior Advocate Atul Damle, appearing for Malik, however stated that he had no instructions from his client to make any statements or give an undertaking in court.

He further raised objection on the maintainability of the suit by pointing out that the suit filed by the father was to raise grievances on behalf of his son and daughter.

He sought for 2-3 more days to file reply to the suit.

Vacation judge Madhav Jamdar noted that the suit seemed to be against defamatory statements of family members and directed Malik to file a reply by tomorrow.

"If you can give reply on Twitter then you better reply here also," Justice Jamdar said before passing an order to file a reply by November 9, 2021.

The hearing on suit was adjourned to November 10, 2021.

The suit has sought damages to the tune of Rs 1.25 crores for allegedly making defamatory statements.

The suit arose after Malik shared Wankhede’s purported birth certificate on his Twitter handle which allegedly stated that Wankhede’s father was a Muslim.

In the suit, Dhyandev Wankhede, the Plaintiff, claimed that the tirade against his son started only after Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan was arrested by NCB in January this year under NDPS Act.

He alleged that remarks, insinuation either oral or written, and interviews with Wankhede’s family members and with Malik were “tortious and defamatory”.

“Defendants have caused irreparable loss, damage, harm, prejudice to the name, character, reputation and societal image of Plaintiff and his family members,” the plea said.

In a related development, a Mumbai court on Monday issued notice to Nawab Malik in a criminal defamation complaint filed by BJP leader Mohit Bharatiya.

Bharatiya claimed in his complaint, filed before the Metropolitan Magistrate at Mazgaon, Mumbai, that while speaking at a press conference, Malik intentionally defamed Bharatiya and his brother-in-law Rishabh Sachdeva to further the agenda that "Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is acting under influence of BJP".

The narrative of the press conference since the beginning was to draw a corollary between the BJP and the NCB and in that said attempt, Malik made serious associations and connections of Malik to the cruise ship drug case in which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan is the prime accused, the complaint said.

Bharatiya alleged that Malik misused his dominant position of being in power as a Cabinet Minister of the ruling party in Maharashtra to target the NCB.

After hearing Advocate Faiz Merchant appearing for Bharatiya in detail, Metropolitan Magistrate PI Mokashi reserved the complaint for orders and pronounced the verdict issuing process on Monday.