Mumbai: A special NDPS court on Tuesday said that it will be permissible to look into the transcripts of the audio recording submitted by the defence in the anticipatory bail plea of celebrity manager Karishma Prakash. The defence had submitted a plea about audio recordings of an alleged conversation in which a now-suspended Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer was “impressing upon” her to change her lawyer or the stringent Section 27 A of the NDPS Act would be invoked.

The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act section, financing of illicit trafficking of drugs, attracts a maximum sentence of 20 years.

The court now said that it will be permissible to look into the recording as a circumstance along with additional grounds, as material placed on record on behalf of Prakash. The prosecution had vehemently opposed the plea stating that “the so-called evidence of audio recording in the mobile phone” was only to malign the image of NCB and to pressurise the officers.

The court is likely to pronounce the order on the anticipatory bail plea on Wednesday.

Prakash had sought pre-arrest bail on October 31. A former manager of actor Deepika Padukone, she has been booked in the drugs case being probed in connection with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

In the plea, the defence said that prior to November 25, 2020, Prakash was being forced to change her lawyers and appoint the one suggested. “That in the above context the applicant (Prakash) has spoken to on mobile calls (WhatsApp calls) by an NCB officer and an advocate whose name is being withheld presently,” the plea said.

The plea said there was a conference call between Prakash, the officer and the advocate he had wanted her to engage, where she was guaranteed that if she paid heed, Section 27 A would not be applied and the entire complexion of the case would change. “That on not agreeing to the said proposal Section 27 A of the NDPS Act was invoked in writing on November 25, 2020,” the plea said.

NCB had booked Prakash after it allegedly found 1.7g of hashish at her Versova home. NCB officials allegedly also seized three vials of CBD oil.