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Special court seeks NCB’s reply to Aryan Khan’s bail application; to hear plea on October 13
Mumbai, October 11
A special court here on Monday directed the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to file its reply on October 13 to a bail plea filed by Aryan Khan, son of film actor Shah Rukh Khan, arrested in connection with the seizure of banned drugs on board a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.
Special Judge VV Patil, hearing matters related to the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, said it would hear the bail plea on Wednesday (October 13).
Aryan was arrested on October 3 and is currently lodged at the Arthur Road prison in Mumbai.
He approached the special court for bail after his plea for the same was rejected by a magistrate’s court last week on the grounds that it did not have the jurisdiction to decide the matter.
On Monday, when Aryan’s counsel Amit Desai mentioned the bail plea, NCB’s advocates AM Chimalkar and Advait Sethna sought a week’s time to respond and file their affidavit.
They said the investigation in the case was still on and there was quite a lot of material collected by the agency and at this stage it needed to be seen if releasing Aryan on bail would hamper the probe.
Desai, however, objected to it, saying a person’s liberty is at question here, and argued that releasing the accused on bail would not stop the investigation.
“The bail will not stop the investigation. The NCB can continue their probe. That is their duty. But, keeping my client in custody, especially when there has been no recovery (of drugs) from him, is not required,” Desai said.
“He (Aryan) has not been found in possession of any narcotics and there is no other material against him. Since his arrest, he has been in the custody of the NCB for a week and his statement was recorded twice. Why does he still need to be in jail?” the senior counsel argued.
Chimalkar, however, said that the agency needed at least a few days time to file its reply.
“What Desai is arguing appears to be rosy, but this is not what the investigation reveals or divulges. Aryan Khan is in judicial custody. Whether his release on bail will affect or hamper our investigation needs to be seen,” Chimalkar said.
Sethna, appearing for NCB, told the court that there was no extreme urgency for the bail plea to be heard immediately.
Desai then sought the court to hear and decide Aryan’s plea separately, saying the recovery of drugs from each accused in the case was different.
But, Chimalkar and Sethna opposed it and said the conspiracy is the same.
Apart from Aryan, four other accused in the case – Arbaaz Merchant, Munmun Dhamecha, Nupur Sateja and Mohak Jaiswal – have also filed bail pleas in the special court.
The court said it would start hearing Aryan’s bail plea on Wednesday.
Aryan has been charged with offences under the NDPS Act sections pertaining to possession, consumption and purchase of drugs.
The NCB has so far arrested 20 people in the case. PTI