Sameer Wankhede tells Bombay HC he never sought Rs 25 crore from SRK

The ineligible conflict surrounding the high-profile cruise drugs lawsuit took a caller crook connected Monday, with erstwhile Sameer Wankhede telling the Bombay High Court that helium neither demanded nor accepted immoderate bribe from Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan to spare his lad Aryan Khan.

‘No demand, nary bribe’: Wankhede’s basal successful court

As per PTI, appearing earlier a seat led by Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Suman Shyam, Wankhede’s counsel Aabad Ponda asserted that the allegations made by the Central Bureau of Investigation are baseless.Ponda argued that determination is “no evidence” to suggest that Wankhede demanded oregon received a Rs 25 crore bribe from Shah Rukh Khan during the 2021 cruise drugs lawsuit involving Aryan Khan. The plea pertains to Wankhede’s petition seeking to quash the FIR registered against him by the CBI successful May 2023 connected charges of corruption and bribery.

What the CBI FIR alleges

According to the FIR filed connected May 11, 2023, Wankhede, on with erstwhile NCB SP Vishwa Vijay Singh, quality serviceman Ashish Ranjan, and backstage individuals Kiran Gosavi and Sanville D’Souza, allegedly demanded Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan successful speech for not implicating Aryan Khan successful the case.The alleged request was aboriginal negotiated down to Rs 18 crore, arsenic per the agency.

Defence cites ‘lawful raid’ and deficiency of proof

Wankhede’s counsel maintained that the raid connected the Cordelia cruise vessel was conducted based connected a tip-off received by the Narcotics Control Bureau and followed owed ineligible procedure.

He added that respective individuals, including Aryan Khan, were arrested successful accordance with the law.

Aryan Khan’s apprehension and aboriginal cleanable chit

Aryan Khan was arrested connected October 3, 2021, a time aft the arguable raid disconnected the Mumbai coast. However, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the NCB aboriginal gave him a cleanable chit connected May 27, 2022, stating determination was nary grounds linking him to a larger cause trafficking conspiracy.An interior probe by the NCB besides flagged procedural lapses, noting that Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant were added to the agency’s “information note” astatine the past moment. It further highlighted irregularities successful documentation, including seizure records and connection recordings by Wankhede’s team.

The substance continues to beryllium heard by the court.