PIL in Bombay HC seeks to restrain Nawab Malik from making comments against NCB

Mumbai, Oct 27: A city resident has filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court, seeking directions to Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik to refrain from making any comments against the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), in light of the drugs case in which actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan is an accused.

The public interest litigation (PIL) was filed on Tuesday by one Kausar Ali, who claims to be a priest and a person working for the rehabilitation of drug addicts.

Ali has urged the HC to direct Malik not to make any comments against the NCB or any other investigating agency associated with the Aryan Khan case and officers of such agencies, saying it will demoralise the probe agencies and encourage drug abuse among citizens.

Citing some of Malik's recent tweets, the PIL says the minister has been tweeting and making claims against the NCB and its officer Sameer Wankhede to "demoralise" them. The plea claims that the NCB, under the supervision of Wankhede, has proven to be the "most effective" agency in the recent past. The high court is yet to assign a date for hearing the PIL.

Aryan Khan (23) was arrested on October 3 along with his friend Arbaaz Merchant, fashion model Dhamecha and some others by the NCB, after it raided a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast and claimed to have seized drugs onboard.

While Aryan Khan and Merchant are now lodged at the Arthur Road prison, Dhamecha is at the Byculla women's prison. A special court for NDPS cases had refused to grant them bail following which they moved the high court.

Malik has repeatedly termed the cruise drugs case as "fake" and levelled various allegations against Wankhede, including illegal phone tapping. Wankhede has refuted the allegations and denied any wrong-doing.