No posts against Sameer Wankhede till December 9, Nawab Malik informs Bombay high court

MUMBAI: Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab

Malik

on Thursday informed the Bombay high court that he would not put up any posts or tweets against Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director

Sameer Wankhede

, his father Dnyandev and other family members on any social media platform till December 9, when the court will next hear an appeal seeking to restrain him.


Malik’s counsel

Karl Tamboly

made the statement “without prejudice” when a bench of Justices S J

Kathawalla

and Milind Jadhav asked him to take instructions from his client and inform it whether he would “stay his hands” for a week or so till further hearing or it would pass orders. The HC accepted the statement as an undertaking to court and posting the matter to December 9 said, “All contentions of the parties are kept open.”

The HC bench was hearing an appeal by Dnyandev who has challenged the single-judge bench order of Justice Madhav Jamdar that had found Malik’s tweets to be “actuated by malice or personal animosity”, but had not restrained the NCP leader from making any alleged defamatory tweets or public statements in future.

Justice Kathawalla orally observed, “He is a minister. Does it befit him to do all this and the single-judge bench says it is with malice and personal animosity.” The bench read out findings of Justice Jamdar and asked Tamboly, “Does the SC say if you come to this finding, you should not restrain?”

Dnyandev’s senior counsel, Birendra Saraf, sought interim orders against Malik pointing to the Supreme Court ruling that once a court gives a finding of ‘malice’ an order to restrain should follow. Saraf claimed that Malik “has spared no one, even Dnyand-ev’s late wife and daughter, ap-art from Sameer Wankhede”.

Saraf asked, “Is it possible that anyone can sling mud at anyone? Social media handles have become a platform for firing loose cannons where anyone can say anything.”

Saraf read out portions of the Monday order which accepted that Malik had not done reasonable verification before tweeting about his allegations that Sameer had secured a public service job through false caste certification and that of extortion.

Justice Kathawalla, speaking for the bench, said, “Let us take one issue. Caste validity. You have a forum. Anyone can go there. First, you have to get this set aside,” he said to Tamboly. The counsel said: “The caste certificate is of 1974.” The HC replied, “Whichever year it is...It is only media attention that he [Malik] wants every day. More so after his son-in-law was arrested.’’

Malik's counsel later mentioned the matter again for a hearing saying he would suggest via media to work out the appeal. The HC said he could mention it on Friday.