In a partial relief for IRS officer and former NCB's zonal director Sameer Wankhede, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Thane police to not take any coercive action till February 28 against him in connection with an FIR for forgery and wilful misrepresentation while procuring liquor license for his restaurant and bar in 1997.
A division bench of Justices S S Shinde and N R Borkar has also asked Wankhede to appear before the Thane police on February 23 (Wednesday) pursuant to the summons issued to him and extend his full cooperation with the investigation.
The court said: “Without going into the merits of the case, in the peculiar circumstances and facts of the case, interim protection from any coercive action can be given.” Observing that there was nothing urgent in the matter, kept it for hearing on February 28.
“There are so many prisoners languishing in jail for years and we are unable to take up their petitions for hearing,” remarked Justice Shinde.
Justice Borkar questioned the police as to what it intends to do by taking Wankhede in custody in a case of 1997. “It is an offence on 1997. What are you (police) going to do now?” asked Justice Borkar.
Public prosecutor Aruna Kamat Pai informed the HC that, on February 20, the police had issued a notice to Wankhede under section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code asking him to appear before it on February 23. As per section 41A, the police may, in cases where the arrest is not warranted, issue summons to the accused person and record his or her statement.
Wankhede's advocates Aabad Ponda and Niranjan Mundargi said that the officer was ready to appear before the police but apprehended arrest due to the sensitive nature of the case and political pressure on the police.
Ponda argued: “He (Wankhede) was a minor in 1997. There cannot be an FIR in the case. The offences under which he has been booked are punishable only up to seven years.”
Feroze Bharucha, advocate for Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik sought to intervene in the matter saying that there were allegations against him.
Wankhede had approached the HC seeking quashing of the FIR filed against him by Kopari police station in Thane on a complaint by the state excise department. According to the complaint, the documents submitted to them in 1997 for procuring a license, for selling liquor in a restaurant and bar, in Wankhede’s name, were forged.
Meanwhile, another bench of HC expressed anger over how Wankhede’s petition filed on Monday was listed for hearing on Tuesday without the court’s permission.
Saying that there was no urgency in the matter, a division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Madhav Jamdar refused to grant a hearing on Wankhede’s petition challenging an order passed by the Thane Excise Collector cancelling the liquor license of his restaurant and bar in Navi Mumbai, and sought restoration of the cancelled license.
“How come this petition is listed today when it was not mentioned before us on Monday? We have not allowed it,” Justice Patel said.
“A poor person files a petition and their matter is never taken up for hearing, and when an influential person files a petition, their plea is listed for hearing immediately,” Justice Jamdar said.
The plea will be listed for hearing in due course of time.
