HC asks Malik to show authenticity of his tweets, Wankhede senior asked to prove it false

Mumbai: The Bombay high court (HC) on Wednesday directed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik to file an affidavit to the effect that he had verified the information pertaining to Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede, his father Dhyandev Wankhede and his family members, before publishing it on his Twitter handle.

Questioning if he verified all he tweeted - as the spokesman of a national political party and a responsible citizen -- the court said, "I want an affidavit from you that the information is verified. It can be a one-page affidavit". The matter will be heard next on November 12.

A single-judge vacation bench of Justice Madhav J Jamdar was hearing Dhyandev's plea for interim relief, including deletion of articles, tweets, interviews in electronic and social media, and a temporary injunction restraining respondents from publishing, writing and speaking in any media.

Sameer Wankhede, the court said, is a public official and any member of the public has the right to examine him. It depends on Dnyandev Wankhede to prove what the minister is saying is false, added Justice Madhav Jamdar.

"You have to prove prima facie that what he is saying is false. The son is not an individual. He is a public official and any member of the public can examine him... Show me every tweet and how according to you it is false," the judge added.

The Court also sought an affidavit from Dhyandev Wankhede, who has filed a defamation suit against Malik seeking Rs 1.25 crore in damages, to establish that Malik's tweets contained false material.

Malik in his reply filed yesterday had accused Wankhede of attempting to cover up his son's illegalities by filing a defamation suit against him.

In the past month, Malik has made a series of allegations against Sameer Wankhede who conducted a raid on a cruise ship on October 2, following which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son, Aryan (23) was arrested.

Wankhede had also arrested Malik's son-in-law, Sameer Khan, in January, in a case that Malik claims in a false one. Malik has called the cruise ship raid "fake" and accused Wankhede and others of plotting to "kidnap" Aryan with the aim of extorting money.

Last month, Malik also accused Wankhede of forging a caste certificate to get a position in the Indian Revenue Service and said that the Wankhede were Muslim.

However, Dnyandev and Wankhede have refuted all claims made by Malik.