Mumbai: Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Deputy Director General Gyaneshwar Singh could not have been part of the enquiry team set up to probe alleged procedural lapses by IRS officer Sameer Wankhede in connection with the Cordelia cruise drugs case, as he gave the latter instructions regarding the case, the Central Administrative Tribunal has held. After the case was lodged, Singh also gave Wankhede the plan of action, said the tribunal's Chairman Justice Ranjit More and member Anand Mathur in their order of August 21.
Singh could not have been part of SET
Respondent No. 4 (Singh), in our opinion, being actively involved in the investigation could not have been the part of SET, which was constituted to hold an enquiry for the alleged procedural lapses on the part of officials during the seizure and follow up action in connection with the aforesaid crime, the tribunal ruled.
The Centre and the NCB shall give Wankhede personal hearing before taking any action against him based on the report, as the findings of the enquiry team are preliminary in nature, the tribunal said.
The case against Wankhede
Wankhede informed the Bombay High Court of the CAT order on Tuesday. A division bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and Rajesh Patil was hearing the officers petition seeking to quash a case of extortion and bribery registered against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Wankhede and four others had demanded Rs 25 crore bribe from actor Shah Rukh Khan for not framing his son Aryan following the alleged seizure of drugs from Cordelia cruise ship in 2021, according to the CBI case.
Aryan Khan spent nearly a month in jail before being granted bail. Wankhede was the NCBs zonal director at the time of the alleged drug bust. The bench said Wankhede could file an affidavit placing the CAT order on record if he wishes to and placed the matter for hearing on Wednesday. The CAT, however, took note of the NCB contention that the SET report was preliminary in nature and that an independent decision would be taken by the Centre and NCB regarding action to be taken against Wankhede.
