Dhyandev Wankhede, father of NCB Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede has filed a defamation case against Maharashtra government minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik for maligning the image of his family by making false allegations.
Nawab Malik has been constantly making allegations on the personal and professional life of Sameer Wankhede and his family right after he arrested star kid Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan in the Cordelia Cruise drugs bust case on October 2.
The defamation case was filed before Bombay High Court where Dhyandev sought Rs. 1.25 crore in damages. Dhyandev has also requested the court for a permanent injunction to restrain the minister, NCP party members and all others from acting under or on his instructions from publishing, writing, or speaking in the media about his family. He has further requested the court till the pendency of this defamation case, there should be an injunction to restrain the minister, NCP party members and all others from acting under or on his instructions, from publishing, writing, or speaking in the media about his family.
He said that all such remarks, insinuations, imputation etc that the minister has made against his family in whatsoever way— in writing, oral, press releases, interviews and likes—should be declared tortious and defamatory in nature. He has also demanded deletion of articles, tweets, interviews, including in electronic and social media.
Dnyandev Wankhede (in file photo), the father of NCB Mumbai Zonal director Sameer Wankhede has filed a defamation suit against Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik in the Bombay High Court pic.twitter.com/jrUdxVtbmI
— ANI (@ANI) November 7, 2021
His lawyer Arshad Shaikh said Dhyandev filed a defamation case since the minister has repeatedly been making false allegations against the family. Now the matter is expected to be taken up after the Bombay High Court reopens on November 8.
Right after the Maharashtra minority minister Nawab Malik launched a personal vendetta questioning his caste and religion besides the integrity of Sameer Wankhede and other family members, Dhyandev had warned about suing the minister.
On Friday, his lawyer made an urgent mentioning before Justice Shahrukh Kathawalla of Bombay High Court to grant permission to Dhyandev to file the suit during court vacation and to hear the matter for interim relief on Monday. To this, the court granted permission. In that urgent mentioning, the lawyer said that Nawab Malik is calling everybody in the Wankhede family a fraud.
The lawyer has maintained that Nawab Malik is casting aspersion on the family since Sameer Wankhede got Sameer Khan arrested in a drug case who is the son-in-law of the minister. Sameer Khan is on bail and the NCB has challenged his bail at Bombay High Court.
The lawyer said that Malik deliberately did a character assassination of lawyer Yasmeen Wankhede who is the sister of Sameer Wankhede. He said that the minister tried to prove that Yasmin has links with drug traffickers by producing WhatsApp chats of a goon known to him.
Earlier, Sameer Wankhede had approached National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) against his constant harassment by the minister. He had also moved to Bombay High Court for protection. Yasmeen Wankhede too had written to National Commission for Women (NCW) and the police against Malik. But despite directives of NCSC, NCW and other constitutional forums the family is being harassed.
