The Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the Bombay High Court on Tuesday that it will not arrest former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede until March 1.
The court was hearing Mr. Wankhede’s plea against the ED’s money laundering case against him for allegedly demanding a bribe of ₹25 crore from the family members of Shah Rukh Khan in the 2021 Cordelia cruise ship drug bust case, which saw the arrest of the actor’s son, Aryan Khan. The case was filed by the ED based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Earlier this month, Mr. Wankhede had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court, seeking to quash the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), a stay on the probe, as well as protection from any coercive action.
The advocate for the ED Sandesh Patil stated in the court, “My earlier statement of no arrest or coercive action would stand extended till the time the plea is taken up for hearing.”
A division Bench of Justices P.D. Naik and N.R. Borkar accepted the statement, and posted Mr. Wankhede’s petition against the case for March 1.
On February 15, the ED stated that it would not take any coercive steps against Mr Wankhede until February 20. Before that, on February 13, the ED said that the investigation into the money laundering case against Mr. Wankhede was transferred to New Delhi and Mr. Wankhede ought to approach the Delhi High Court for any relief in the case.
After learning about the transfer, Mr. Wankhede had also filed an interim application urging the court that the probe should not be transferred to Delhi.
