Sameer Wankhede tells Bombay HC he never sought bribe from Shah Rukh Khan to spare his son Aryan Khan in drugs case

Wankhede was booked for bribery in May 2023 for allegedly conspiring to extort ₹25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan in lieu of allowing Aryan Khan off the hook after the October 2021 drugs bust on the cruise ship. He was later accused of accepting a bribe of ₹50 lakh from the actor.

Wankhede has challenged the first information report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against him and four others for allegedly demanding a bribe, before the high court in 2023. He has challenged it on grounds that it was registered long after the stipulated period of four months had elapsed under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. He claimed the case against him was motivated by malice and vendetta.

Counsel for Wankhede, senior advocate Abad Ponda, on Monday told a division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Suman Shyam, “The allegation against me is that I demanded bribe through someone else. However, there is no proof, no material against me. There is no case against me.”