Bombay High Court Rejects Sameer Wankhede's Father's Plea For Contempt Action Against Nawab Malik

The Bombay High Court earlier this month refused to initiate contempt of court proceedings against former Maharashtra minister and senior NCP leader Nawab Malik for allegedly making defamatory statements against former NCB officer Sameer Wankhede and his family.A division bench of Justices Mahesh Sonak and Jitendra Jain, while dismissing the contempt petition filed by Sameer's father Dhyandev, orally observed, "We have very broad shoulders, you too can have broad shoulders or you have the remedy to file defamation."The bench in its order, noted that on December 10, 2021, had submitted an affidavit, undertaking he will not be making any comment on the Wankhede family, even upon being asked by the media. However, Dhyandev, in his plea, alleged that Malik breached this undertaking and had posted a tweet on social media platform 'X' (formerly Twitter) referring Sameer Wankhede as 'Sameer Dawood Wankhede' instead of 'Sameer Dhyandev Wankhede.'The judges noted that the statements in question, were made after the suit filed by Dhyandev against Malik, was rejected for non-clearance of office objections. "Upon examining the tweet, we are not satisfied that such a statement amounts to any breach of undertaking. The allegations primarily relate to the period after disposal of the suit," the bench noted. Further, the bench observed that contempt is a matter between the Contemnor and the Court and that the role of the Petitioner is only to place the circumstances before the Court. "Considering the circumstances cumulatively, we do not deem it appropriate to exercise our contempt jurisdiction in this matter. Accordingly, the Contempt Petition is dismissed, leaving it open to the Petitioner to resort to any other remedies to secure restoration of the suit and to pursue the reliefs in the suit," the bench said in the order passed on July 11. Therefore, the bench dismissed the contempt petition.Click Here To Read/Download Order

Bombay High Court Rejects Sameer Wankhede's Father's Plea For Contempt Action Against Nawab Malik

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