The Bombay High Court on Monday refused to pass an injunction order to restrain Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik from making public statements on Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede, Live Law reported.

“At the prima face stage, it cannot be said allegations are totally false”, Justice Madhav Jamdar said in its order. He added that Malik has raised pertinent issues against Wankhede.

The court noted that the right to privacy has to be balanced with freedom of speech. The general public has the right to comment about the actions of a person in official capacity. It also observed that serious allegations against Wankhede have been made by Prabhakar Sail, the panch witness in the Aryan Khan case.

The court, however, maintained that Malik should exercise reasonable care to verify the allegations against Wankhede before putting them in the public domain.

The court acknowledged that Malik’s media statements were purportedly “actuated by malice and animosity”, as they started appearing on October 14 following the grant of bail to his son-in-law, who was earlier arrested in a drugs case. However, it refused to pass an injunction order saying that the allegations can’t be termed wholly false at prima facie stage.

The court was hearing a defamation suit filed by Dhyandev Wankhede, father of Sameer Wankhede against Nawab Malik.

Malik has alleged that Sameer Wankhede amended his Muslim name and changed his religion to avail the benefits of reservation. He has shared various documents related to Wankhede to substantiate his claims.