Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede firmly denied allegations that he sought or accepted a bribe from Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan to “spare” his son Aryan Khan the high-profile Cordelia cruise drug bust case during proceedings before the Bombay High Court on Monday.
Wankhede was responding to the central allegation in a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR that he and others had demanded Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan, allegedly in exchange for influencing the outcome of the 2021 drug case against Aryan Khan.
The payments were allegedly intended to remove the actor's son's name from the investigation, a claim the former officer categorically denied in court.
Before a bench of the Bombay High Court, Wankhede, through his counsel Aabad Ponda, declared that he had never demanded, solicited or received a bribe from Shah Rukh Khan or his family at any stage of the cruise drugs investigation.
His counsel argued that any suggestion of inducement via private individuals did not constitute an act by Wankhede himself.
The defence maintained that there is no tangible evidence connecting Wankhede to a Rs 25 crore bribery demand or any direct attempt to extort Shah Rukh Khan.
Senior advocates for Wankhede also highlighted that the original CBI FIR names private persons who allegedly received money, contending that Wankhede was not personally involved in such transactions.
The bribery allegations stem from a CBI FIR filed in 2025, which accuses Wankhede and four others of criminal conspiracy, bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and extortion related to the 2021 NCB raid on the Cordelia cruise ship.
During that raid, Aryan Khan was arrested alongside others on drug charges, though he was later granted bail and ultimately cleared of all charges.
The CBI has been investigating claims that Wankhede sought Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan's family in return for not implicating his son, a charge the officer has consistently denied. Late last year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also registered a money-laundering case in connection with the CBI FIR.
The bench has previously granted Wankhede interim protection against coercive actions in relation to the bribery case, pending the investigation's conclusion.
