The Bombay High Court on Monday quashed and set aside the order of a single bench of the HC that had refused to restrain Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik from making public statements against the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede and his family.A division bench of Justices S J Kathawalla and Milind Jadhav quashed and set aside the order after Malik and Wankhede’s father Dnyandev consented that the single bench order be recalled and Dnyandev’s grievances against the minister, raised through an interim application on his defamation suit filed against Malik, be heard afresh by the HC.On November 22, a single bench of Justice Madhav Jamdar held that though Malik’s tweets against Wankhede, particularly those pertaining to allegations of the NCB officer having submitted a false caste certificate to secure the central government job and having accepted illegal gratification while on duty, had stemmed out of malice, the minister couldn’t be completely prohibited from making comments against a public officer.Dnyandev then challenged the singe bench order.While hearing the appeal last week, a division bench of Justices S J Kathawalla and Milind Jadhav held that Malik’s statements and tweets against Wankhede did seem to be a clear case of malice and logically, he should be restrained from making such comments.The bench had also asked if it behoved the minister to make such comments without due verification and why he hadn’t first approached the caste scrutiny committee with a formal complaint against Wankhede?
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