Bombay HC asks Sameer Wankhede's dad & Nawab Malik to prove contentions in defamation case

Adjourning the Wankhede-Malik defamation suit till November 12, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked both sides to submit an affidavit before the next hearing. In the affidavit, the court has directed Nawab Malik to confirm that he had verified the information about Dnyandev Wankhede and his family before putting it out in the public domain through Twitter. The court also asked Dnyandev Wankhede to file an affidavit asserting that the information put out by Nawab Malik about him and his family was false. 

The defamation suit is filed by Dnyandev Wankhede to stop Malik from defaming his family. He has also sought Rs 1.25 crore compensation from Malik for the 'irreplaceable loss, damage, harm, prejudice to the name, character, reputation and social image of him and his family.' 

Hearing in Bombay High Court

During the hearing on Wednesday, Adv Diwaker Rai arguing for Wankhede said, "Nawab Mallik says as a politician it is his responsibility to bring the truth out. Speaking about Sameer Wankhede’s birth certificate- the birth certificate makes a mention of caste but the certificate has not been produced here. Lawyer Atul Damle appearing for Nawab Malik argued, "We are producing the birth certificate of Sameer Wankhede, produced by BMC." 

On this, Wankhede’s lawyer said that they did not have a copy of it. "Our contention is that it is false." Then Malik's lawyer argued, "Wankhede’s contention is that his fake FB ID was made but why would my client make it in 2015."

Wankhede's lawyer also mentioned the tweets of Malik in regards to Sameer Wankhede's sister Yasmeen Wankhede, and asked, "how did Nawab Mallik get those screenshots? It defames the image of Yasmeen before the readers." Malik's lawyer argued, "I am not posting anything in the air. I am speaking on the basis of some documents I have. Of course, there needs to be some investigation that needs to be done." 

The Court interrupted and asked if Nawab Malik had verified information before putting it on Twitter. Having said that, the court directed both sides to file affidavits, proving their claims, and adjourned the hearing till November 12.