The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday informed the Bombay High Court that it would not take coercive action against former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede in the money laundering case until March 1. A division bench of Justices P D Naik and N R Borkar accepted the statement and posted a hearing in Wankhede’s plea against the ED case to March 1. The Bombay High Court was hearing Wankhede's plea against the ED's money laundering case for demanding a bribe of Rs 25 crore from the family members of the accused, including actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, in the 2021 Cordelia cruise ship drug bust case. The ED had filed its case based on the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The ED had stated on February 15 that it would not take coercive steps against Wankhede until February 20. On February 13, the agency had informed the high court it had transferred an investigation into a money laundering case against Wankhede to Delhi. It had argued that since the cause of action now lay in Delhi, Wankhede ought to approach the Delhi High Court for any relief in the case. In the ED case, Wankhede has challenged and sought to quash the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), and pending final disposal of his plea, also sought a stay in the probe and no coercive action against him till then. He also sought that his plea against the CBI case be disposed of. After learning about the transfer of the case, Wankhede had also filed an interim application seeking that the probe should not be transferred to the Delhi unit of ED. Wankhede had got interim protection from arrest in May last year in a CBI case and was granted this temporary relief from time to time. The High Court had directed that Wankhede should not publish any material through WhatsApp or any other medium on the subject matter of the petition or investigation. The court had also directed him to not give press statements or tamper with evidence in any matter whatsoever. The HC also adjourned Wankhede's plea against the CBI bribery FIR to March 27 and continued interim relief till then.
