MUMBAI: A week after it was established that Sameer Wankhede had not been eligible for a bar and restaurant licence on the day he secured it, Thane excise superintendent Nilesh Sangde on Monday issued him a showcause notice, asking why it should not be revoked or suspended for misrepresentation of facts. Wankhede, zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau, owns Sadguru bar in Vashi.
Sangde confirmed to TOI the excise department has invoked the Maharashtra Prohibition Act in the matter. “We have issued a showcause notice under Section 54 of the Act. We expect him to respond to the showcause notice within 15 days. After receipt of his reply, we will decide the course of action. He will have to present his case before the Thane collector,” Sangde said. A senior excise official said Section 54(E) provides for suspension or cancellation of a licence if obtained through wilful misrepresentation or fraud. “Wankhede will have to establish on the day he secured the licence, he was eligible for it.”
Following a TOI report that Wankhede had secured the licence at age 17, against the eligible 21, the excise department had initiated an internal probe to verify his age. The official said the committee headed by the then Thane collector Ujwal Uike had approved a proposal for granting a licence to Wankhede.
