Atrocities case by Sameer Wankhede: Mumbai police to file closure report against NCP leader Nawab Malik due to lack of evidence
NCP leader Nawab Malik was booked in 2022, a day after the Mumbai city district caste scrutiny committee gave a clean chit to Wankhede in a caste certificate row.
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Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede (Source: Express photo/Ganesh Shirsekar)The Mumbai Police last week informed the Bombay High Court that it had probed Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede’s complaint against Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik and decided to file a C-summary (closure) report due to lack of evidence.
An FIR against Malik on charges of defamation and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was registered in 2022, a day after the Mumbai city district caste scrutiny committee gave a clean chit to Wankhede in a caste certificate row. While a bench led by Justice Revati Mohite-Dere passed an order on January 14, the same was made available on Tuesday.
On January 14, Additional Public Prosecutor S S Kaushik, on instructions from officers, stated before the Bombay High Court that the police, after conducting an investigation, had decided to file a C-summary report before the court concerned. After the probe, a C-summary report is filed when the investigating agency concludes that there is no evidence and the case is neither true nor false. The complainant in the case can challenge the closure report after it is filed before a court. The trial court can accept or reject the closure report after ascertaining claims and counterclaims.
“In view of the aforesaid statement made by the APP, on instructions, nothing survives for consideration in the present petition. The same is disposed of accordingly,” the bench noted in its order while disposing of Wankhede’s plea.
Wankhede’s plea, filed and argued through senior advocate Rajiv Chavan and advocate Sana Raees Khan, claimed that despite his complaint, the Goregaon police station in suburban Mumbai neither conducted a probe nor filed a chargesheet against Malik and there was no custodial interrogation due to his political influence.
On December 12, the police informed the high court that charges under the SC/ST Act were added to the FIR. The petitioner then sought direction from the police to submit steps taken by proving agency pursuant to the FIR registered at the behest of Wankhede.
The investigating officer informed the bench that Section 3 (1) q and r (giving false and frivolous information and intentionally insulting member of SC/ST community) of the SC/ST Act had been added against Malik and the probe was underway. The court then asked the police to conclude the probe within four weeks.
On January 14, after taking on record the statement of the lawyer for the Mumbai police related to the closure report, the bench noted, “Needless to state that it is now open for the petitioner to take appropriate steps before the appropriate forum, in accordance with law. Needless to also state that we have not gone into the merits of the petitioner’s complaint nor the investigation carried out by the police and as such all contentions of all parties are kept open.”
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