Aryan's name dropped from complaint, Wankhede tells HC; no arrest till Monday

Former Narcotics Control Bureau zonal director Sameer Wankhede on Friday alleged before the Bombay high court that the "draft complaint" in the 2021 drugs-on-cruise case named actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan as an accused, but it was later replaced and Aryan's name was dropped.

The Indian Revenue Service officer made the claim in his petition before the HC seeking to quash an FIR registered by the CBI against Wankhede for allegedly seeking a bribe of Rs 25 crore from Khan for not implicating his son in the alleged drug bust.

A vacation bench of Justices Sharmila U Deshmukh and Arif S Doctor, after recording Wankhede's undertaking that he would appear before the CBI on Saturday, directed the agency not to take any coercive action (like arresting him) till May 22.

Among other things, his petition also provided transcriptions of phone chats with Shah Rukh Khan during the period Aryan was in NCB custody.

It cited Khan as pleading with Wankhede to be kind to his son and praising the officer for his "uprightness".

The petition, filed through advocate Rizwan Merchant, claimed that after concluding the investigation in the case, a draft complaint was prepared by the department legal advisor, where charges were proposed against Aryan Khan among others.

But this draft complaint never came to be filed on record and was replaced by another draft complaint prepared from outside, Wankhede alleged.

It made apparent "the evil design of dropping the name of a particular accused from prosecution," it added.

The Narcotics Control Bureau, eventually, named 14 people in its charge sheet but let off Aryan due to "lack of sufficient evidence".

Gyaneshwar Singh, then NCB deputy director who headed the NCB's team which conducted an inquiry against Wankhede, falsified records to claim that he was not involved in the supervision of Aryan Khan case and Wankhede had acted independently, the plea alleged.

Advocate Merchant also argued that the CBI searched his client's house for 14 hours in his absence and took away his phone, slippers and "even undergarments."

The petition cited Wankhede's purported phone chats with Shah Rukh Khan to claim that they nowhere suggest that any bribe had been demanded.

"Please show some kindness my man. Love srk I can only plead and beg you as a father. Please," the superstar said in one chat, as per the petition.

It also claimed that Khan deplored political meddling in the case.

CBI lawyer Kuldip Patil submitted that the accused was not cooperating with the investigation.

If he cooperates, he might not be arrested, but the discretion to arrest an accused lies with the investigating officer, the lawyer said.

Wankhede's lawyer said his client was present in court and ready to give an undertaking that he will cooperate.

The court then recorded Wankhede's undertaking that he will attend the CBI office at Bandra Kurla Complex here at 11 am on Saturday.

The CBI shall not take any coercive action till May 22, the next date of hearing, the HC said.

Aryan Khan was arrested by the NCB on October 3, 2021, following the alleged drug seizure on board the Cordelia cruise ship here.

He was granted bail by the high court after three weeks as the anti-drugs agency failed to substantiate its charges against him.