Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday reserved its verdict on an interim petition filed by Dhyandev Wankhede, father of NCB officer Sameer Wankhede, for a defamation case. Wankhede has demanded that Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik stop making any derogatory posts on social media against him and his family.
Wankhede's lawyer Arshad Sheikh presented several documents before the court to prove that Dhyandev Wankhede is a Hindu, not a Muslim, as Nawab Malik claimed. Referring to Malik's tweet on Sameer Wankhede's birth certificate, Sheikh said, 'Shouldn't he show how he verified a photocopy (birth certificate) before tarnishing my (Sameer's) reputation? The birth certificate should be correct, you knew that David's name was corrected as Dhyandev in the corner of the same documents. You take only one document out of all documents. I am surprised that the name is written everywhere in different handwriting, but only Sameer is written in capital letters.'
Justice Jamdar asked Advocate Atul Damle appearing for Malik about the change in birth certificate as to why the handwriting of 'Sameer' and 'Muslim' is different. He said the Supreme Court says that if there is a public document, it is okay, but it should be verified, otherwise, it is a violation of privacy. Justice Jamdar also said, 'You are a member of the Assembly, a cabinet minister and a spokesperson of a political party. You should take more care.' While arguing the matter, Damle explained Sameer Wankhede's Nikahnama and birth certificate that the documents prima facie indicate that the plaintiff's name is Dawood, and I have taken due care.
Advocate Sheikh also mentioned a photo of Sameer Wankhede arguing, which according to Malik's tweet was from Dubai. Sheikh said the photo was of the airport lounge. He said that 'if I went to Dubai, would the passport authorities here not have details of my visit. Did you get any details from the visa-issuing authorities? He didn't do the verification. My trip was not from Dubai but from the Maldives.'
Dhyandev Wankhede had filed an affidavit on Friday, which included a 2008 caste certificate, to prove that he comes from the Mahar community and is documents of his son (Sameer) and daughter (Yasmin). This includes an affidavit from Dhyandev Wankhede's wife in which she said she had converted to Hinduism after marriage. After hearing all the arguments, the High Court has reserved its verdict. Sameer Wankhede's father Dhyandev Kachruji Wankhede has slapped a defamation case of Rs 1.25 crore against Nawab Malik and his party members.
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