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Synopsis

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the Bombay High Court on Tuesday that the money laundering case against Sameer Wankhede, Revenue Officer and former NCB Officer, has been transferred to Delhi.

The division bench of the high court, comprising Justice PD Naik and Justice NR Borkar, was hearing a petition filed by Sameer Wankhede to quash the money laundering case registered by the ED.

The ED has accused him of allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs. 25 crores from Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, in return for not framing his son in the Cordelia Drugs Cruise Ship Case.

The Enforcement Directorate filed a money laundering case against Wankhede after the CBI filed an FIR against him.

Advocate Hiten Venegaonkar, representing the agency, informed the bench that all the papers were sent to Delhi, and the entire cause of action lies there.

Venegaonkar added that the case was transferred due to administrative reasons and that there was nothing before the Bombay High Court to consider in the petition.

Senior Advocate Abad Ponda, appearing for Wankhede, called the ED’s action of transferring the case to Delhi as mala fide.

Ponda contended that until Friday morning, the ED was sending summons to Wankhede to appear before the Mumbai Office, and only after Wankhede filed a petition before the high court, the case was transferred to Delhi.

The division bench said that it will consider Wankhede’s petition to quash the ED’s case and CBI’s case on Thursday.

The case relates to the investigation initiated by the NCB Unit of Mumbai, which conducted a drug seizure from a cruise heading to Goa from Mumbai. The NCB arrested 20 individuals, including Shah Rukh Khan's son, Aryan Khan.

Wankhede has been granted interim protection from arrest by the high court in the CBI case until his petition is heard.

Case title: Sameer Wankhede vs ED