Bombay HC to Nawab Malik: Publish tweets against Wankhede family after 'reasonable verification of facts'

Mumbai, Nov 22: The Bombay High Court on Monday refused to restrain Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik from posting tweets about the family of NCB officer Sameer Wankhede in a defamation suit filed by Wankhede's father Dhyandev Wankhede.

The court said that it is necessary to balance the fundamental rights of Nawab Malik and Dhyandev Wankhede. However, it told the Maharashtra Minister that he should post, comment and publish tweets against the Wankhede family after 'reasonable verification of facts.'

The court stated Nawab Malik's allegations against the Wankhede family cannot be ruled as totally false at the prima facie stage. "At the prima face stage, it cannot be said allegations are totally false," Live Law website quotes Justice Madhav Jamdar as saying in its order, and pointed out that serious allegations have been made by Prabhakar Sail, an independent witness in Mumbai drug case.

The Bombay HC noted that people have right to comment about an individual's action.

Dhyandev Wankhede, in his suit, had sought damages to the tune of Rs 1.25 crore from Malik for making defamatory comments against his son Sameer Wankhede and family through press conferences and via social media.

The suit has sought an order declaring Malik's statements as defamatory in nature and a permanent injunction restraining the NCP leader from publishing or making statements before the media, including his social media accounts.

The Maharashtra minister has been making a lot of allegations against Sameer Wankhede following the arrest of Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, in a high-profile drug case. From sharing his birth certificate to accusing him of getting his government job using a forged certificate, Nawab Malik has made several claims against the NCB officer.

The Wankhede family alleged that Nawab Malik is targeting them for arresting his son-in-law in a drug case by the NCB officer.