Yesterday, the Bombay High Court was notified by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that the money laundering case involving Sameer Wankhede, a Revenue Officer and former NCB Officer, has been shifted to Delhi.

During a hearing, the division bench of the high court, consisting of Justice PD Naik and Justice NR Borkar, considered a petition filed by Sameer Wankhede seeking to dismiss the money laundering case initiated by the ED.

The ED has leveled accusations against Sameer Wankhede, alleging that he demanded a bribe of Rs. 25 crores from Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan  in return for not framing his son in the Cordelia Drugs Cruise Ship Case.

Following the filing of an FIR by the CBI against Wankhede, the Enforcement Directorate initiated a money laundering case against him. Advocate Hiten Venegaonkar, representing the agency, apprised the bench that all relevant documents had been forwarded to Delhi, emphasizing that the entirety of the legal basis for the case lies within that jurisdiction.

Senior Advocate Abad Ponda, appearing for Wankhede, called the ED’s action of transferring the case to Delhi as mala fide.

Ponda argued that up until Friday morning, the ED had been issuing summons to Wankhede to appear at their Mumbai office. It was only after Wankhede filed a petition before the high court that the case was transferred to Delhi. The division bench stated that it would deliberate on Wankhede's petition to dismiss both the ED's and CBI's cases on Thursday.

The case relates to the investigation initiated by the NCB Unit of Mumbai, which conducted a drug seizure from a cruise heading to Goa from Mumbai. The NCB arrested 20 individuals, including Shah Rukh Khan's son, Aryan Khan.

Wankhede has been granted interim protection from arrest by the high court in the CBI case until his petition is heard.

Case title: Sameer Wankhede vs ED