Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has filed a special leave petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court to challenge the bail granted to late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty in a drugs case.

Justice Sarang Kotwal of Bombay High Court had granted her bail in October 2020 in the case allegedly linked to a “drug angle” in 34-year-old Rajput’s death on June 14 last year. HC had said she was not a part of any drug dealer chain nor was any recovery made from her.

The Centre through NCB has sought cancellation of her bail. It filed the SLP on February 19, which was verified on March 12.

The agency had filed a 12,000-odd-page chargesheet against Chakraborty and 32 others on March 5.

The agency had arrested Chakraborty (28) on September 8, 2020, and termed her an “active member of a drug syndicate’’ and that it wanted to “bust the drug citadel in Mumbai”.

NCB invoked Section 27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) against Chakraborty and her brother Showik Chakraborty alleging the siblings “financed the drug procurement”. The crime is punishable with a minimum 10 years’ imprisonment and a maximum of 20 years.

The fresh NCB case is expected to come up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and Rama Subramanian. The likely date of hearing is March 18, says the apex court website.

NCB had alleged on some occasions Chakraborty had used her own money to procure drugs for Rajput and she had facilitated the purchase through her brother, Showik, and also relied on the late actor’s staff. Based on its accusations that she had paid for some ganja, NCB had claimed she was an “active member of a drug syndicate” with a large reach.

HC, while releasing Chakraborty on bail, said, “I am unable to agree with the submission that giving money to another for consuming drugs would mean encouraging such habit and would mean ‘financing’ or ‘harbouring’ as envisaged under Section 27A of the NDPS Act.”

“Spending money in procuring drugs for Sushant will not, therefore, mean she had financed illicit traffic,” HC had said in its prima facie findings for bail.

Reacting to the chargesheet, her lawyer Satish Maneshinde had earlier said in a statement shared with the media: “All efforts of NCB have been directed towards Rhea Chakraborty to somehow rope her in.” He said the SLP filed by the Centre through NCB has yet to be served on Chakraborty.