In a major jolt to Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, a special court in Mumbai on Wednesday rejected the bail application of his son Aryan Khan, who was arrested in a drugs-related case.
Aryan Khan (23), was arrested on 3 October by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and booked under the stringent Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) after a raid on a cruise ship Cordelia, where a rave party involving high-profile people was busted.
A total of 20 persons have been arrested by the anti-drugs agency in the case so far.
Khan’s legal team moved the Bombay High Court challenging the order of the special NDPS court.
Besides Aryan Khan, the NDPS court also rejected the bail pleas of two co-accused, Arbaaz Merchant, a social media influencer, and Munmun Dhamecha, a model and designer.
“…Bail applications 2571/21, 2576/21 and 2583/21 stand rejected. Accordingly Bail applications are disposed off,” said Special Judge VV Patil, who last week heard Aryan Khan’s counsel Amit Desai and Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, who represented the NCB.
Judge Patil accepted the NCB’s contention that Aryan Khan was a regular consumer of drugs, dealing in narcotics and the case having international links as evident from his WhatsApp chats.
In its order, the court said: “As argued by learned Additional Solicitor General, from WhatsApp chats of applicant no. 1 (Aryan Khan) it is reflected that he was indulging in illicit drug activities. Respondent (NCB) contended that since all the accused, including accused no. 1 are influential persons they are likely to tamper with evidence of prosecution if released on bail. Respondent claimed that accused no. 1 is in touch with foreign national and other drug dealers who appear to be part of an international drug network and investigations in this regard are going on and the respondent is tracing out the criminal antecedents of said persons.”
Judge Patil also noted that if any of the accused is released on bail, it would tamper the entire investigation.
“During interrogation applicant/accused no. 1 is the only person who could disclose the details of the said persons which are in the exclusive knowledge of accused no. 1,” the order said.
Singh had argued that at least 5 out of the 20 arrested are drug peddlers and are somehow linked with the other co-accused which the NCB is trying to unearth.
As soon as the bail plea was rejected and the defence got the copy of the order, Desai accompanied by lawyer Satish Maneshinde rushed to the Bombay High Court, however, the court hours ended by that time.
The bail application in the Bombay High Court is expected to come up for mention on Thursday before the bench of Justice N W Sambre.
The accused were booked for alleged conspiracy, possession, consumption, purchase and trafficking of drugs under sections 8(c), 20(b), 27, 28, 29 and 35 of the NDPS Act.
While Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant are lodged in the Arthur Road jail, Munmum Dhamecha is the Byculla women’s prison.
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