Disproportionate assets: HC refuses to entertain Sameer Wankhede's petition

The Delhi High Court Friday refused to entertain a petition by former Narcotics Control Bureau NCB officer Sameer Dyandev Wankhede seeking protection from search seizure or arrest on allegations of amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of incomeThe high court said it was not convinced on the point of territorial jurisdiction to adjudicate the matter and Wankhede a 2008 batch Indian Revenue Service officer has not placed any document on record on the basis of which he has filed the petitionA perusal of the petition shows that the intimation communicationreference alleged to have been made by respondent no 6 to the CBI in relation to the petitioner Wankhede which he seeks to impugn is not on record Counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner does not have a copy of such communicationAbsent such communication the petition is bereft of the very foundation on which it is sought to be premised Furthermore absent such communication the territorial jurisdiction of this court to entertain the petition is in doubt Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani saidAfter advancing some arguments Wankhedes counsel sought to withdraw the plea with the liberty to file afresh for the same cause of action before a court of competent jurisdiction once there is tangible material on which such a petition is founded the high court said while allowing him to withdraw itWankhedes counsel submitted he has oral information that some proceedings have been initiated against him after an NCB official allegedly claimed before the CBI that he was acquiring disproportionate assetsHe claimed the properties were acquired by Wankhede before he joined the Indian Revenue Service and therefore no case under the Prevention of Corruption Act could be made outAlso Read SC clubs all pleas pending before different HCs on samesex marriagesThe counsel said the officer has no issues in facing an inquiry but he should not be subjected to search seizure or arrest and should be given notice before any action is takenThe court said it cannot quash something which is not before it and added that the officers claims were purely hypotheticalI cannot act preemptively I am afraid I cannot help you This petition as of now is incomplete the judge saidWankhede who was posted on deputation to NCB between September 2020 to December 2021 is now serving with the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services in ChennaiHe led the NCB team that probed the drugsoncruise case against Aryan Khan the son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and othersThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever