Sameer Wankhede’s sister files petition against closure report on defamation suit filed by her against Nawab Malik

“The court should not accept a police report that fails to investigate or preserve key evidence where influence could have affected inquiry, instead, the court ought to direct a further impartial investigation or transfer the matter to an independent unit,” the petition filed before a magistrate court states.

In 2021, Yasmeen had approached the Bandra court alleging that Malik had made defamatory allegations against her on social media and media interviews. This was the time when the Narcotics Control Bureau’s zonal director in Mumbai was Sameer Wankhede.

The police report filed recently had given a clean chit to Malik, stating that there is prima facie no case made out against him. It had also cited Malik’s statement where he has told police that he had no personal animosity towards Yasmeen, who is a lawyer, and that he was a spokesperson of the party at that time, and it was part of his duty to express his opinion, and ask questions. The police also ruled out claims of stalking by stating that photos alleged to have been posted by Malik were taken from public accounts of Yasmeen.

In the protest petition filed through her lawyer, Ali Kaashif Khan, Yasmeen has said that even as a political party’s spokesperson, one is not authorised, to ‘misuse private photographs from Instagram and publish them publicly for his own private agenda’. It further said that the police report has attempted to ‘justify the conduct of the accused person, which is contrary to the provisions of the law’. Yasmeen in her complaint had said that Malik had acted out of vengeance for NCB’s arrest of his son-in-law in a case. In 2021, Malik had addressed the media multiple times and also posted about alleged irregularities in the probe involving a cruise, where actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan, was arrested along with others. Aryan was given a clean chit subsequently by the NCB.

In January, the court had ordered an inquiry into the complaint and it had pulled up the police in July for their failure to submit a report into it. The court will hear the case on September 22.