The Bombay High Court on Tuesday issued a show-cause notice to NCP minister Nawab Malik in a contempt plea by Dhyandev Wankhede, the father of former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede, who claimed that though Malik gave an undertaking to the court, he continued to make defamatory statements against the Wankhede family.
The high court has asked the minister to respond by February 21 stating why action must not be taken against him and contempt proceedings initiated in accordance with the law.
The court issued the notice after perusing an affidavit filed by Malik in which he stated that the comments made by him on December 28, January 2 and 3 against Sameer Wankhede were in line with the liberties granted to him by the high court. However, the court upheld Wankhede’s contention that the statements on the said dates were defamatory.
On February 3, a division bench of Justices S J Kathawalla and M N Jadhav had directed Malik to file an affidavit in reply to the contempt plea.
On December 10 last year, Malik had tendered an unconditional apology in the high court for “wilfully breaching” his undertaking to the court that he won’t make statements against Dhyandev and his family. The minister, however, had said that his statement would not prevent him from commenting on the “political misuse” of central agencies and the conduct of their officers. The high court had accepted Malik’s apology.
Dhyandev, in his contempt plea filed last month, said Malik wilfully breached the undertaking. Citing certain remarks by Malik on December 28 last year and on January 2 and 3, he said, “These statements are specifically directed against the petitioner’s son impugning his caste/religion and his personal integrity. Even assuming that these statements can in any manner be construed as comments on political misuse of central agencies and conduct of their officers in course of their duties, such conduct should be related to the duties hereafter performed, that is, after December 10. Aforesaid statements pertain to actions/omissions of petitioner’s son much prior to December 10, 2021.”
The petitioner said Malik should be held guilty of contempt under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.
On Tuesday, advocate Karl Tamboly for Malik submitted an affidavit in reply to the plea, stating that the impugned responses were made by Malik under the impression that such responses, made during the course of interviews, were within the ambit of the undertaking made before the court.
Malik, in his affidavit, stated that the remarks cited by the petitioner are also an “imputation of truth which public good requires to be made” and that the contempt plea was filed with the “oblique motive” to stop him from giving details on “illegalities committed by central agencies such as NCB” and sought that it be dismissed.
For Wankhede, senior advocate Birendra Saraf argued that Malik had committed contempt of the undertaking given by him and therefore appropriate action be taken against him.
The court noted that if Malik was not accepting the veracity of the excerpts of his press conference given by the petitioner, he ought to have given the correct version of the excerpts, which was not done. “We are therefore not satisfied with explanation by respondent and direct registry to issue show-cause notice to him returnable on February 21,” the bench said.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/wankhede-contempt-plea-bombay-hc-notice-to-nawab-malik-7762566/
