Cruise ship drug bust bribery case: HC denies provisional protection to defendant Sam D’Souza
The CBI recently filed an FIR against former NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede for allegedly seeking a Rs 25 crore bribe from Shah Rukh Khan for failing to incriminate Aryan Khan in the cruise ship drug case. (Image: PTI/File)
D’Souza entered a guilty plea seeking a dismissal of the case against him and requested provisional protection from any coercive action, including arrest, until his guilty plea is decided.
The Mumbai High Court on Friday denied Sanville, alias Sam D’Souza, provisional protection in a case involving an alleged demand for a Rs 25 crore bribe from actor Shah Rukh Khan for not implicating his son Aryan Khan in the case of the drug bust of the Cordelia cruise ship. . Former NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede is one of the defendants in the case.
D’Souza, through attorney Pankaj Jadhav, entered a guilty plea to have the case against him dismissed. He also requested provisional protection against any coercive action, such as arrest, until his guilty plea is decided. However, a holiday bank of Justices Abhay Ahuja and MM Sathaye refused to provide internal protection for the D’Souzas.
Earlier, the court granted Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Wankhede provisional protection with an undertaking that he will attend the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) office when called and will not make any statement on the case in the media. The CBI recently filed an FIR against Wankhede for allegedly seeking a Rs 25 crore bribe from Shah Rukh Khan for failing to incriminate Aryan Khan in the cruise ship drugs case.
The investigative agency booked Wankhede and four others for alleged criminal conspiracy and extortion threats, in addition to bribery-related provisions under the Prevention of Corruption Act, in an NCB complaint.
The agency has alleged that the NCB area in Mumbai received information in October 2021 related to the use and possession of narcotics by several people on a private cruise ship and some of its officers conspired and obtained improper advantages in the form of bribes from the alleged defendants.
Aryan Khan was arrested by the NCB on October 3, 2021, following a raid on the Cordelia cruise ship. The Bombay High Court granted him bail after three weeks as the NCB was unable to substantiate the charges against him. ITP AVI NR
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency – PTI)
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