Mumbai, July 30, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Bombay High Court on Thursday questioned the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) over the initiation of inquiries against its former Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, observing that acting on allegations made by accused persons against investigating officers could create “chaos” in the criminal justice system.
A division bench of Justice A.S. Gadkari and Justice Kamal Khata expressed concern over the multiple inquiries initiated against Wankhede, who was the investigating officer in the 2021 Aryan Khan cruise drugs case. The court observed that such action could discourage officers from carrying out their statutory duties.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by Wankhede seeking quashing of preliminary enquiry notices issued against him based on anonymous complaints.
During the hearing, the court questioned whether the allegations against Wankhede had been raised by the accused at the time of arrest or during the investigation itself. It also sought an explanation on why such complaints emerged only at a later stage.
The High Court observed that if allegations against investigating officers are accepted without proper scrutiny merely because they are made by accused persons, it could establish an undesirable precedent and affect the criminal justice process.
The court admitted Wankhede’s petition for final hearing and granted interim relief, providing protection to him until the matter is decided.
Wankhede had led the NCB operation on October 2, 2021, on board the Cordelia Cruises ship, during which Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and 19 others were arrested in connection with offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Wankhede has maintained that the proceedings initiated against him are arbitrary, motivated and legally unsustainable, according to his legal team.
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