Never sought bribe from Shah Rukh Khan to spare his son in drugs case: IRS officer Sameer Wankhede

Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai regional director Sameer Wankhede told the Bombay High Court on Monday (March 23, 2026) that he never demanded or accepted a bribe from actor Shah Rukh Khan after his son Aryan Khan was arrested in a drugs case.

Mr Wankhede’s lawyer Aabad Ponda was defending the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer’s petition seeking to quash the FIR registered against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in May 2023 on charges of corruption and bribery.

Mr. Ponda told Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Suman Shyam that Mr. Wankhede had never demanded or received a bribe from Shah Rukh Khan.

According to the CBI FIR, Mr. Wankhede and other accused in the case allegedly demanded ₹25 crore from the actor to give his son a clean bill in the drugs case.

No evidence: lawyer

However, Mr. Ponda told the court that the CBI had no evidence to prove that Wankhede demanded or received any bribe.

NCB had received a tip-off regarding alleged drugs on the cruise ship Cordelia. The lawyer added that a search was conducted in accordance with the law and several people, including Aryan Khan, were arrested.

The court said it would continue to hear the defense on Tuesday, March 24.

The CBI had registered the case against Mr. Wankhede and others on charges of criminal conspiracy (Indian Penal Code Section 120B) and threat of extortion (388 IPC) as well as bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act, following a complaint from the NCB.

exciting case

Aryan Khan was arrested in the alleged drug raid case on a cruise ship on October 2, 2021.

Later, NCB filed a chargesheet in the case against 14 accused but gave a clean chit to Aryan Khan.

The much-hyped case took a completely different turn in 2021 when an “independent witness” alleged that an NCB official and others, including a witness, had demanded ₹ 25 crore to release Aryan Khan.

The NCB subsequently conducted an internal vigilance inquiry against Mr. Wankhede and others and shared the contents with the CBI, leading to the registration of a case against him.

Based on the CBI’s FIR, the Enforcement Directorate has also registered a case against the IRS officer, accusing him of money laundering.