Rule barring Sameer Wankhede from speaking to media about case applies to CBI as well: Bombay High Court

Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede told the Bombay High Court on Friday that the Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) was leaking information to the media about the corruption case registered against him and others..Wankhede’s counsel Senior Advocate Abad Ponda informed the Court about news reports which allegedly listed out witnesses the CBI was going to summon in Wankhede’s case.He claimed that the reports clearly indicated that the source of the information was someone from within the investigating agency. Ponda thus asked the Court to pass some orders barring the CBI from speaking to the press about the case.“I had given an undertaking that I won’t speak to media. The reason given was this is a sensitive case. But sanctity should be maintained from both sides,” Ponda argued..A Division Bench of Justices AS Gadkari and SG Dige at this point told counsel for the CBI,“Rule made applicable to petitioner is equally applicable to you.”.CBI counsel Kuldeep Patil assured the Court that neither he nor the investigating team had given out any information to the media. “Let me make a statement. Maybe it is the persons who have been summoned who are telling, but till date my (investigating) officer has not spoken to the media. There is no (CBI) source,” Patil emphasized. .However, the Court was not convinced as the news report cited CBI as a source. “Some press reporter has published it. He has done so with some responsibility. It is not casually. If they are saying it is CBI source...“.To dispel any doubts, Patil told the Court that the CBI will conduct an enquiry to try and find out the source who could have leaked the information. “We are making a statement. We will conduct an inquiry, but till todaym we have not talked to media and we will not talk,” Patil concluded..Patil also told the Court that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta will be appearing on behalf of the CBI in the case. The Court posted the matter for hearing on August 21 to let Mehta give his dates for hearing. .The CBI had registered a criminal case against Wankhede for allegedly demanding a bribe of ₹25 crore from Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan in exchange for not framing his son, Aryan Khan in the 2021 Cordelia cruise ship drugs case.Wankhede approached the High Court seeking to quash the first information report (FIR) lodged against him.The High Court had granted interim protection to him, one of the conditions being that Wankhede should not publish any material by way of WhatsApp or any other mode on the subject matter in the petition or the investigation..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.