Model Munmun Dhamecha, an accused in the Cordelia cruise drugs case who was arrested along with Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s son, has levelled serious allegations against Sameer Wankhede, the controversial former zonal director of NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau). Dhamecha has finally broken her silence and spoken exclusively to mid-day. Dhamecha has claimed that Wankhede framed her due to her profession as a model, with the intention of attracting media attention.

Model Munmun Dhamecha, an accused in the Cordelia cruise drugs case who was arrested along with Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s son, has levelled serious allegations against Sameer Wankhede, the controversial former zonal director of NCB. Dhamecha has finally broken her silence and spoken exclusively to mid-day. Dhamecha has claimed that Wankhede framed her due to her profession as a model, with the intention of attracting media attention.

Recounting her experience of being arrested on the Cordelia cruise, Dhamecha stated, “I am a relatively unknown model and had received an invitation to attend the cruise. Upon arrival, a room was allocated to me. Subsequently, NCB officials conducted a raid on the cruise and discovered drugs in the room assigned to me, not in my personal possession. There were two other individuals present, Saumya Singh and a person named Baldev. Singh was released after a conversation with NCB official V V Singh, and I am unaware of the details of their interaction. Interestingly, drugs were also found in Singh’s possession, yet she was let go.”

Continuing her account, Dhamecha added, “Initially, Wankhede assured me that there was nothing to worry about, as nothing incriminating was found on me, and they would complete the necessary formalities before allowing me to leave. However, as soon as he discovered that I am a model, he proceeded to arrest me. Later, I was presented in court, and they didn’t even allow me to speak with my family.”

Furthermore, she was coerced into changing her lawyer and compelled to select one recommended by Wankhede and his team. These allegations against Wankhede and his team are not unprecedented, as similar claims have been made in the past, accusing them of pressuring the accused to choose a lawyer favoured by NCB.

“Wankhede and his officers later advised me to contact a lawyer of their recommendation. However, I said I wanted to hire my own lawyer. Despite that, Wankhede and his officer V V Singh insisted that I choose the lawyer they suggested. Wankhede called me into his office and politely mentioned that these lawyers were skilled in handling such cases and assured me I would be granted bail soon if I chose the lawyer he suggested. Initially, I considered his assistance genuine, but eventually, I decided to proceed with my own lawyer, which led to further harassment,” Damecha said.

Furthermore, Dhamecha said, “Wankhede also mentioned that he was helping me due to my loss of a mother, as he had also lost his mother a few years ago. He tried to establish an emotional connection.” 

Dhamecha said she was approached by an NCB officer who informed her about the existence of a list outlining how much money should be extracted from each accused. In her case, no specific demand was made and Wankhede’s intention seemed to be centered on garnering media attention.

“Munmun Dhamecha was illegally arrested, just like Aryan Khan, and there never existed any drugs or their possession with them. Sameer Wankhede’s strategy was to file false cases against celebrities and later extort huge sums of money from them, along with cheap publicity. The office cabin of the controversial officer is covered with media articles in lamination form, which proves his obsession with celebrities and the media,” said Advocate Ali Kashif Khan Deshmukh, representing Dhamecha. 

“Another strategy of Wankhede was to force arrested accused to keep selected lawyers only who would not speak against NCB in court, or else they would make the case against them even stronger, leading to their bail being rejected,” Khan added.

“My client was also threatened and warned with the same since the beginning to change the lawyer [myself] as I was speaking and exposing the NCB in the courts, but she remained strong and adamant on her part, which eventually gave her fruitful results,” Khan further added.

“We have filed a discharge application before the special NDPS court against the said bogus case. There is not a single incriminating evidence against Munmun in their own charge sheet. The next date in court is 25th May, when NCB is supposed to file its reply,” Khan said.

Replying to the allegations made by Dhamecha and her lawyer, Wankhede said, “The events leading to the actions taken by NCB were the subject matter of an SET constituted for this purpose, and the report of which is before the competent court. Since the matter is sub judice before the competent court, I strictly refrain from commenting on any such issue. It is better to exercise caution when publishing such stories while the matter is sub judice.”

Dhamecha was charged by NCB’s SIT, and according to the charge sheet, she provided a voluntary statement admitting to smoking charas as a means to cope with depression resulting from family issues. In her statement, she mentioned that she, along with her friends Saumya and Baldev Raj, booked a party ticket on the Cordelia Cruise and checked into Cabin No. 9174 on October 2, 2021. Dhamecha disclosed that she had purchased 5 grams of Charas in Goa for personal consumption from a friend.

She further revealed that when the NCB team identified themselves and said they wanted to search the cabin, she panicked and threw the 5 grams of charas from the right pocket of her pants onto the corner table. She stated that she did this out of fear. She informed investigators that the same charas were later found, sealed, and seized by the NCB team in her presence. Subsequently, her statements were recorded multiple times by the SIT, and she was charged accordingly in the charge sheet.

Citing Aryan Khan’s clean chit, model Munmun Dhamecha, who was one of the accused in the 2021 drugs on cruise case, has approached a special court in Mumbai court seeking discharge from the case.

Her plea states, “Khan, who was arrested due to being in the company of co-accused Arbaaz Merchant, from whom a recovery of 0.6 grams of charas was made, was discharged by NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) through their chargesheet.”

Dhamecha stated in her plea that when she boarded the cruise, nothing was found in her possession, but only from her cabin, and, therefore, she cannot be made responsible for it. Others present in the cabin during the alleged recovery were let off and she was the only one from her cabin who had been detained, the plea said.

Munmun was arrested along with Aryan and six others when a drug raid was carried out on a Mumbai-Goa cruise. “NCB Mumbai on October 2, 2021, intercepted Vikrant Chhokar, Ishmeet Singh Chadha, Arbaaz Merchant, Aryan and Gomit Chopra at the International Port Terminal, Mumbai Port Trust, and Nupur Satija, Mohak Jaiswal and Munmun Dhamecha at Cordelia Cruise. All the accused persons were found in possession of narcotics, except Aryan and Mohak,”

Sanjay Kumar Singh, Deputy Director General (Operations), NCB said in a statement while giving a clean chit to Aryan Khan.

Mumbai: WhatsApp chats extracted from the mobile phone of Aryan Khan disclose “nothing objectionable” nor is there any evidence to show he and his friend Arbaaz Merchant or Munmun Dhamecha and other co-accused had hatched any conspiracy to commit drug offences, and they had already been behind bars for 25 days, said the Bombay high court in its reasoned order for granting them bail on October 28 made available on Saturday.

“Applicants were not even subjected to medical examination so as to determine whether at the relevant time, they had consumed drugs,” said Justice Nitin Sambre, whose reasons for giving bail came a month after special NDPS judge V V Patil at sessions court had found the same chats showing “reference to bulk quantity and hard drugs”.

It is not in dispute that Khan (23), son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, was not found in possession of any drug, the reasoned order read. Nor is it in dispute that the quantity of drugs allegedly seized from Merchant (26) and Dhamecha (28), to whom too HC granted bail, “is small quantity”.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had arrested the trio on October 3 following its October 2 raid at the city’s international cruise terminal.

The NCB had said it seized 6 gm of charas from Merchant at the terminal gate. Merchant, it said, planned to smoke it and since he was travelling with Khan, it was in Khan’s “conscious possession”. Five grams of hashish was seized from Dhamecha’s cabin.

----------------------

Mumbai: The HC in its reasoned order-granting bail to Aryan Khan and 2 others observed that the NCB seizure is small quantity and said, “Even if it is appreciated, the maximum punishment prescribed is not more than one year for such offence. Applicants have already suffered incarceration for almost 25 days.”

The HC issued the bail conditions and set the bond amount on October 29. Khan was released from Arthur Road jail on October 30, followed by Dhamecha and Merchant the next day. Aryan Khan was invited as a guest on the cruise by the event organiser.

The HC in its 14-page order said it is “required to be sensitive to the fact that there has to be presence of basic material in the form of evidence so as to substantiate the case of conspiracy against the applicants.” Merely because the applicants were travelling on the cruise, “that by itself cannot be termed as satisfying foundation for invoking provisions of Section 29 (conspiracy) against the trio,” the HC reasoned.

It rejected NCB’s submissions made through additional solicitor general Anil Singh that there was conspiracy and since “cumulatively commercial quantity of drugs was seized from the accused persons,” the “intention” of the trio to commit offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act should be considered and bail denied.

Khan’s counsel -- Mukul Rohatgi, Amit Desai and Satish Maneshinde -- and Merchant’s counsel -- Desai and Taraq Sayed -- had argued that for an offence of conspiracy, there has to first be a consensus via “meeting of minds’’ before the act is committed, and here there was none. The ASG had said conspiracies are difficult to prove at the bail stage.

None of them, the two students and, Dhamecha, a model from MP, have any criminal antecedents, the order said. Dhamecha’s lawyer Ali Kaashif Khan argued she too was invited as a guest for the party on the two-day cruise from Mumbai to Goa.

Justice Sambre said that to infer an act of conspiracy on part of the trio with other coaccused in the case, “there has to be positive evidence about such an agreement to do an unlawful act or a lawful act by unlawful means and such agreement must precede with meeting of minds.” His order noted, “There is absence of material on record of them having such meeting of minds with other accused who were named in the offence in question.”

There is “hardly any positive evidence to convince this court that all accused with common intention agreed to commit unlawful act,” said the order, “Rather the investigation carried out till this date suggests that (Aryan and Arbaaz) were travelling independent of (Dhamecha) and there was no meeting of minds.”

“There is no material on record to infer that applicants have hatched conspiracy” to commit a drug offence, hence it is difficult to infer at this stage that they are involved in an offence of commercial quantity, hence a stringent provision like Section 37 which places greater checks on courts before granting bail “would prima facie not be attracted to the case.” “It is difficult to infer that applicants are involved in an offence of commercial quantity,” said Justice Sambre.

Justice Sambre clarified that ‘confessional statements’ recorded under Section 67 of NDPS Act can be considered only for investigation purpose and “cannot be used as a tool for drawing inference that the applicants have committed an offence under the Act.”

The trio’s counsel had cited the Supreme Court ruling in the Toofan Singh case, which said NCB officers are also police officers and confessional statements recorded by them are not admissible evidence. The HC rejected NCB claims that Khan and the two others had, via their statements, “accepted” their involvement.

The arrest sans a notice first was illegal said Desai, but stating Section 37 makes all offences ‘cognizable and non-bailable’, no such notice under Section 41A of Criminal Procedure Code was required and the arrest was legal, the HC order noted the ASG as saying.

----------------------

The Bombay High Court issued a detailed copy of the bail order granted to Aryan Khan in the cruise drug case on Saturday. In the order, the HC said that no substance was found on Aryan, and that there was no evidence of any conspiracy against him or his co-accused Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha to commit drug-related offences.

The court also said that nothing objectionable was found in the conversation between the accused on WhatsApp. “There is hardly any positive evidence on record to convince this court that all the accused persons with common intention agreed to commit the unlawful act,” the order read.

The NCB had argued in the court that the accused had confessed that they had consumed drugs. Clarifying this point, the HC wrote in the order that statements containing such confessions are meant to help the investigating agency. “But, you cannot [use this to] show that the applicants have committed an offence under the NDPS Act.”

The court also said that the NCB had not done a medical checkup of the three accused, which would have proven whether they had actually taken drugs at the same time. Aryan was arrested by the NCB on October 2. He was allegedly accused of attending a drug party on a cruise travelling from Mumbai to Goa. The NCB had arrested 20 more people, including Merchant and Dhamecha, along with Aryan. Aryan got bail from the High Court on October 28 after spending three weeks in Arthur Road Jail.

Mumbai: Unlike Aryan Khan, the two other accused who got bail on the same day as him had to stay in jail for another night as they were unable to complete bail formalities despite a frantic effort by their lawyers, families and friends. Aryan’s friend Arbaaz Merchant (26) and model from Madhya Pradesh Munmun Dhamecha (28) had to spend their 27th night in Arthur Road jail and Byculla jail respectively. With the two finally managing to procure release orders from court only at 7.30 pm, they are likely to be released on Sunday. Nine others granted bail by the NDPS court on Saturday made their way home after being released late evening.

Unlike in the case of the nine accused who were permitted release on provisional cash bail of Rs, 50,000 each, the Bombay High Court that granted bail to Aryan, Merchant and Dhamecha had set the bail surety amount at Rs 1 lakh. Furnishing surety is comparatively a more complex procedure.

While for Aryan, on Friday itself, an hour after HC set bail conditions at 3.30 pm, actor Juhi Chawla made a dash to sessions court to present herself as surety and sign a bond of Rs 1 lakh, ensuring he was released on Saturday morning, for Merchant and Dhamecha, fulfilling bail conditions was more arduous. As presenting a single surety of Rs 1 lakh was difficult as a solvency certificate was difficult for them to procure in such a short period of time, Merchant and Dhamecha’s families brought seven people each to stand surety for Rs 15,000 each.

For MP-based Dhamecha, it was her brother, relatives and friends; Merchant’s sureties included his mother, brother and others. For a surety of over Rs 15,000, one has to furnish a solvency certificate of an immovable property worth that much or more. For surety of Rs 15,000 or less, income certificate, ration card and proof of residence is enough, a lawyer said.

The process then commenced on Saturday morning, with both families frantically trying to complete the procedure before court and get the release memo to the jail before the cutoff time of 5.30 pm. The order, which is in a sealed cover, is to be placed in the drop box outside jail. Dhamecha’s lawyer Ali Kaashif Khan said the procedure in court was completed only at 7.30 pm, two hours beyond the jail’s deadline.

Earlier in court at 5.20 pm, Merchant’s father Aslam Merchant said the family was hoping the jail would consider a delay of half-an-hour or so. Aslam claimed that a power cut at 4 pm in court had set them back by half an hour. “I met my son in the morning. He is upset with the delay and wants to get out immediately. Even Aryan is out now. He is all alone,” Aslam said. Ali Kaashif Khan said they managed to drop the release order in the box at 8.30 pm.

Mumbai Hours after the Bombay High Court gave the operative part of its bail order at 3.30 pm on Friday setting the bail surety amount at Rs. 1 lakh, hopes for the same day release of Aryan Khan from Arthur Road Jail dwindled among his legal team as the bail formalities, which included furnishing of a surety and other procedures, took time.

On his 26th day in a cell and his hopes pinned on paperwork, Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, had to contend with one more night in a jail barrack, though not of uncertainty, report Swati Deshpande & Rebecca Samervel.

Justice Nitin Sambre had on Thursday granted bail to Khan (23), his friend Arbaaz Merchant (26) and Munmun Dhamecha (28). Aryan’s advocate said he would be released shortly after 7 am on Saturday.

------------------------

---------------------

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to 23-year-old Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha, a model from Madhya Pradesh, in the case of seizure of drugs from a cruise liner on October 2. All of them have spent 25 days in custody.

Shah Rukh Khan (55) had tears in his eyes when he heard the news of his son’s liberty being secured, said senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi. He said Shah Rukh even made notes to assist the legal team.

The detailed order of the HC single bench of Justice Nitin Sambre, with conditions of bail and the amount for surety, would be out on Friday. This meant the three would spend another night in jail.

Additional solicitor general Anil Singh, who appeared for the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), argued for over an hour where he opposed the bail pleas, saying, “Aryan Khan is a regular consumer of drugs. There is evidence to prove that he has been providing drugs.”

Singh said, “It was a party. My learned friend is saying why we have arrested on October 2 on Gandhi Jayanti… The arrest was not invalid. The order of remand was never challenged on grounds of illegal arrest, so far. Not even one of the three remand orders of the magistrate was challenged, now belatedly they cannot say arrest is illegal.”

---------------------

Mumbai: The HC on Thursday granted bail to Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha in drugs seizure case.

At the hearing of the bail plea of the trio, senior counsel Amit Desai, appearing as lead counsel for Merchant, along with advocate Taraq Sayed, had on Wednesday termed the very arrests as “illegal’’ as no notice under Section 41A of Criminal Procedure Code was issued to first seek an explanation since alleged recovery of charas was small and attracted less than a year’s punishment.

Singh said tampering cannot be ruled out as “the affidavit by a witness named a person”. He did not name the person himself, though he was referring to Prabhakar Sail’s affidavit in which he has alleged a Rs 8 crore payoff to an NCB official and mentioned Pooja Dadlani, Shah Rukh Khan’s manager.

The NCB stressed again that Khan and Merchant were together and Khan was in “conscious possession”, and that he was connected with peddlers and the entire case is one, which cannot be dissected, and it is of commercial quantity. When the judge asked on what basis the agency had found Khan dealing in “commercial quantity”, the NCB referred to his WhatsApp chats. “The grounds of arrest were shown within four hours of arrest. Four hours cannot be called a delay. Besides, conspiracy is difficult to prove. It is only the conspirators who know how they have conspired. We have WhatsApp chats which we will place on record.”

Rohatgi, brought in from London for the HC hearing, then started his rejoinder to argue why NCB arguments ought not to be accepted. He argued for about 15 minutes and after mid-submission, the judge said he had heard enough. He tossed the three applications towards his staff and said, “All three applications are allowed.” It was around 4.45 pm. The courtroom was packed, with other lawyers too. The suddenness of the pronouncement took many by surprise.

Khan’s advocate Satish Maneshinde then sought permission to submit cash bail, which the court refused, and said it has to be a surety. “I could have also given the order tomorrow. But I gave it today,” Justice Sambre said. He said the detailed order assigning reasons would come later.

Khan is presently in judicial custody and lodged at Arthur Road prison. The legal team will now try to complete the formalities for his release by Friday itself or Saturday, once the operative part is out, depending on the time the order copy is out.

Rohatgi in his rejoinder said, “Aryan and Arbaaz were together. But the most important thing put against us is commercial quantity being recovered from others. While the ASG refers to Section 37 (provision making bail tough) of NDPS Act by referring to commercial quantities being recovered, Section 27A (the serious offence of illicit trafficking and financing of drug trafficking) is not invoked against them,” he pointed out. Both Rohatgi and senior counsel Amit Desai had on Wednesday argued that the arrest memo did not mention their arrest was for any conspiracy but that offence was inexplicably shown in the first remand application on October 3.

“What is argued against me is what has been found on five others, which if you total up, will amount to commercial quantity. Aachit Kumar, whom NCB called a dealer, was arrested four days later with 2.5 grams. Can he be a dealer? Their case is that since they were there it is a case of conspiracy, but the conspiracy is a meeting of minds. Apart from Arbaaz none of the other accused have any connection with me, and there were 1,300 people in the cruise,” Rohatgi said.

Rohatgi said, “It is the greatest travesty of justice if Article 21 (right to life and liberty) is not examined at the time of bail.”

The three were arrested on October 3 and booked under relevant sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for possession and consumption after 6gm charas was allegedly found on Merchant’s shoes and 5gm from Dhamecha’s cabin floor. Both had denied the recovery, and Khan’s case was that there was nothing found on him at all, yet he was arrested and alleged to be part of a “larger conspiracy” by the NCB.

Meanwhile, after the day’s proceedings, solicitor Raian Karanjawal from Delhi, engaged by his school junior, Shah Rukh Khan for the HC bail hearing, said, “I interacted with Shah Rukh Khan before the matter, when he asked me about Mukul Rohatgi before the HC bail plea, and after bail was granted, over the phone. He thanked us. My daughter, part of the legal team interacting more frequently, found him well versed with all the facts, measured in the approach, not excitable as a lot of clients are in such situations and very balanced to talk to. He was also familiar with aspects of the case.”

---------------------------------

The Narcotics Control Bureau team led by its Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede that busted a rave party on cruise liner Cordelia on October 2 allowed one of the organisers to walk free, alleged state cabinet minister Nawab Malik on Thursday. The minister identified the person as Kashiff Khan, head of Fashion TV India, and said he is a friend of Wankhede. On Wednesday, Malik had said that NCB was a competent agency and should find out about a bearded man who he claimed was a drug dealer and was let off after the raid on the cruise liner that led to the arrest of Aryan Khan.

Malik said on Thursday that he has a video where Kashiff Khan was seen partying inside the cruise along with his girlfriend. “He is close to Wankhede and he was allowed to leave, he was one of the organisers. While other organisers were arrested, he was let off. The NCB zonal director must answer his connections with him,” Malik said. The minister has levelled several allegations against Wankhede including of phone tapping. He had earlier said that three people were let off by Wankhede and one of them is a relative of BJP leader Mohit Bharatiya. The NCB has said that six people were let off after they didn’t find any evidence against them. Bharatiya has filed a defamation case against Malik for dragging his name to the case.

In March, the Oshiwara police had booked Kashiff for allegedly raping and assaulting a 31-year-old colleague in a five-star hotel. According to the complaint filed by the woman, Kashiff had been making overtures for a year and had misbehaved with her. After she repeatedly rejected his advances, Kashiff allegedly raped her and filmed the alleged assault. He wasn’t arrested then. As per the complaint, the woman joined Fashion TV in March 2020 and often accompanied Kashiff for business meetings. During one such business trip to Goa, Kashiff touched her inappropriately, said the complaint. mid-day tried to reach Kashiff but his number remained switched off.

With inputs by Anurag Kamble

Mumbai: Senior counsel Amit Desai argued in the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that the arrests of Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha in the cruise liner drug bust case was illegal given the rules and judgments concerning contraband seizures of small quantities. He cited a Supreme Court ruling that deprecated unwarranted arrests saying they cause “humiliation’’ and a 2014 landmark apex court ruling in Arnesh Kumar which enunciated the principle and sought mandatory enforcement of section 41A for “all offences that attract less than 7 years’ jail term’’. He then cited a Andhra Pradesh high court judgment to say that section 41A applies to cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act too.

“We (Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant) are arrested for an offence of consumption that has not been committed,” said Desai, pointing out that they could only be accused of having an intention to consume. Justice Nitin Sambre will continue hearing their bail pleas on Thursday.

Desai also pointed to the bail granted to two co-accused Avin Sahu and Manish Rajgaria in the same case following the October 2 raid at the cruise terminal, There was recovery of 2.4 gram of charas from one, and none from the other, NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) said. Desai said on principles of parity since it involves a question of liberty, it can be looked at.

He said the heart of the case is the conspiracy charge. “NCB misled the court in its first remand application, saying they were arrested for conspiracy though the arrest memo shows no arrest for conspiracy.” He said “conspiracy” defined by jurists requires a meeting of minds prior to an act. For example, he said if two burglars break into the same house independently at the same time, it is not a conspiracy.

Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi for Aryan Khan added that in his arrest memo, “there is no mention of any recovery” and a joint possession cannot, in law, be shown.

Appearing for Merchant, Desai said the cases involving the trio are “individual and unconnected to others”. He argued that “there can be no case of consumption either. Consume is a verb. Their case was at best of intention to consume which is not an offence under section 27 of the NDPS Act”. He said there should have been no arrest because Aryan had no drugs in his possession; NCB can, at best, establish possession of 6 gram by Arbaaz; and no medical tests were done to show consumption.

Desai said the arrest memo was identical for Khan and Merchant. He said in the remand application for Aryan, “they dumped…recoveries from others who were not even arrested at the time”.

Desai said Aryan, Arbaaz and Munmun were arrested for identical offences of sections 8(c) read with 20(b) (for possession) and 27 (for consumption). Section 28 (attempt) and 29 (conspiracy) were not on the horizon, which means maximum punishment would be one year. He said there was no case for a conspiracy as they had no agreement. Since these were individual acts of alleged possession and consumption, NCB officers had a duty to first issue notice instead of effecting arrest, he said.

“What is recovered? Only 6 gram from Arbaaz and 5 gram from Munmun, but NCB said 21 gram. There is no connection. No Whatsapp messages and calls between them. The trial court rejected bail because NCB alleged commercial quantity recovered from an accused with who these have no connection.’’

-----------------------

Mumbai: Arguing for actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan’s bail plea in the drug seizure case, previous attorney general Mukul Rohatgi told Bombay High Court on Tuesday that Khan was not in “conscious possession” of the contraband allegedly seized from a friend’s shoe.

Questioning the finding by the judge of a special court handling drug cases that Khan was in “conscious possession” of contraband found with a friend, Rohatgi said the surmise was “tenuous and farfetched”. “Possession of somebody else cannot be my possession unless there is control and knowledge.” Rohatgi underlined his point about complicity by citing a Supreme Court judgment on a minister who was booked for harbouring a terrorist after a servant brought him into the house. “The SC said that cannot be the case,” he said.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) claimed to have recovered 6gm of charas from Khan’s friend Arbaaz Merchant’s shoes a short while after they boarded a cruise liner headed for Goa on October 2. “Since there was no recovery, no consumption, no medical examination to show consumption… not even a party. I submit that Aryan Khan was wrongly arrested.”

The HC is hearing the bail applications of Khan, 23, Merchant, 26 and Munmun Dhamecha, 28, a fashion model, after the sessions court denied them bail. In all, eight persons were arrested before the cruise began. The NCB has alleged a conspiracy connecting all eight. The HC will continue hearing the bail plea Wednesday afternoon. Referring to an affidavit by a witness, Prabhakar Sail, which is being relied on by the NCB to cite vendetta against its officers, Rohatgi said the “unsavoury controversy between political personalities and the NCB cannot rub off on me (Khan)”.

---------------

Post-lunch session, Justice Nitin Sambre’s court room saw a sudden surge in crowd as Aryan Khan’s bail hearing approached. It prompted Justice Sambre to break proceedings for a while after asking his associate to ensure that Covid SOPs are followed. The court officer finally commanded everyone, including the media, to leave. The judge assured media’s re-entry later. The lawyers representing Khan and the NCB had to wade through thick crowds to step inside the courtroom

Mumbai: A special NDPS court on Wednesday rejected the bail application of actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, noting there is material in the form of incriminating WhatsApp chats that shows his nexus with suppliers and peddlers.

The court also rejected the bail application of two others — Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha— who were arrested with Khan in the case of seizure of drugs from a cruise liner and said charges of conspiracy are applicable as it transpires all the accused are connected in the same thread.

Khan and Dhamecha have moved the Bombay high court in appeal and will mention it on Thursday. Khan has said in the HC plea that the drug trafficking charge is false and has denied illicit trafficking and conspiracy charges.

On Khan, the NDPS court said perusal of WhatsApp chats shows reference to bulk quantity and hard drugs: “Prima facie material showing that Khan was in contact with persons dealing in prohibited narcotic substances as alleged by prosecution.” The court said though no contraband was recovered from Khan, he had knowledge of charas recovered from his friend Merchant’s shoes. 

---------------------------

Mumbai: The NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) had claimed to have recovered 6 gms of charas from Arbaaz Merchant’s shoes. The NDPS court said Aryan Khan “was having knowledge and thus it can be said that it was in ‘conscious possession’ of both the accused.”

The court said record shows Khan and Merchant admitted to being friends for long, travelled together to the party and were apprehended together. It added, “In their voluntary statements, both disclosed they were possessing said substance for their consumption and for enjoyment. Moreover, WhatsApp chats prima facie reveal (Khan) is dealing in illicit drug activities of narcotic substances on a regular basis.” The court noted it hence cannot be said he is not likely to commit a similar offence while on bail.

Judge V V Patil’s court, in its 21-page order rejecting the bail plea of the trio, said, “Prima facie involvement of the three accused in commission of grave and serious offences. This is not a fit case for granting bail.” The court pronounced its verdict at 3:00 pm. The three accused were not in court. Khan and Merchant are in Arthur Road jail, while Dhameja is at Byculla women’s jail, where they will remain now pending a hearing and decision by HC.

The court noted ASG Anil Singh, for NCB, had shown it WhatsApp chats of Khan with foreign national and unknown persons dealing in drugs, and their perusal revealed “references of bulk quantity and hard drugs”. The court said it formed prima facie material to show he was in contact with drug dealers.

The court noted that “during interrogation (Khan) did not disclose details of the persons which” are in his exclusive knowledge and as argued by Singh, NCB said it is tracing the criminal antecedents of such persons and if Khan is released, “there are every chances of tampering with evidence.” “The court found NCB produced evidence to show prima facie that “accused are part of larger network”.

It rejected Merchant’s lawyer Taraq Sayed questioning the reliance on WhatsApp chats when NCB produced no phone seizure reports. The court said NCB papers show Khan and Merchant “voluntarily surrendered their mobiles.” It said “it is not possible to record satisfaction at this stage that applicants have not committed any offence under NDPS Act” and added, “Considering evidence on record it cannot be said that there are reasonable grounds” to believe that the trio is not guilty.”

Interestingly, while Khan’s lawyer cited the HC order granting bail to Rhea Chakraborty to establish that charges of criminal conspiracy are not applicable in this case, the prosecution cited the HC order in her brother Showik’s case to support its case of conspiracy. In Showik’s case, HC had said he appeared to be an important link in the chain of drug dealers. He had monetary transactions with dealers, HC had said, and observed it was not desirable to release him on bail at that stage. The HC, while granting Rhea bail, had said when there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty of such offence, s/he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail.

The sessions court said there is a chance of Khan tampering with evidence. It also accepted Singh’s contention that rigours of the anti-bail Section 37 (used usually when commercial quantities are seized) of NDPS Act would apply since commercial quantity was recovered from another co-accused.

---------------------------

The special NDPS court on Wednesday rejected the bail applications of Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and model Munmun Dhamecha. The special court, in its order, has said that prima facie there is material that the accused are part of a larger network and Aryan deals with illicit drug activities on a regular basis. The special NDPS court in its detailed order also made some observations with regard to the WhatsApp chats of Aryan submitted by the NCB.

The lawyers of Aryan and Dhamecha have now moved the High Court seeking bail. The court said, "WhatsApp chats brought before the court show that Aryan has been dealing with illicit drug activities of narcotics substances on a regular basis. Therefore it can't be said that Aryan is not likely to commit a similar offence while on bail."

The court has also said that there is incriminating material placed on record in the form of WhatsApp chats, which show Aryan's nexus with suppliers and peddlers. During the course of arguments, WhatsApp chats were shown to the court. These were chats of applicant/accused no.1 (Aryan Khan) about drugs with unknown persons. There is also the reference of bulk quantity and hard drug in the chats. There is also prima facie material showing applicant/accused no 1 was in contact with persons dealing in prohibited narcotic substances as alleged by the prosecution.

According to the court order, NCB had received specific information that a rave party had been organised on a cruise and the accused would arrive with the contraband and in pursuance of this information, a raid was conducted. During the interception the accused disclosed the name of those who supplied the contraband to them. "Thus all these facts prima facie show that the accused acted in conspiracy with each other," the court observed. The court also observed that during interrogation Aryan did not disclose names of foreign nationals and other drug dealers he was in touch with.

"It transpires that all the accused are connected in the same thread. The aspect of proving the conspiracy which deals with depth is required to be considered only at the time of the trial," the court further added while rejecting the bail pleas. The court in its order, said that Section 29 of the NDPS Act is applicable in this case, as the prosecution has alleged there is conspiracy and abetment.

Senior advocate Taraq Sayed who appeared for Arbaaz argued before the court that there is no mention of seizure of their mobiles in the panchnama so one cannot rely on the chats NCB is talking about. Aryan Khan's lawyer Amit Desai made similar arguments. However, the court in its order, said that the documents produced on record by the NCB show that both accused have voluntarily surrendered their mobile phones during interrogation. "Hence submission made by Arbaaz's lawyer that the seizure of the mobile phone was not shown in the panchnama, falls to the ground," the court said.

Munmun Dhamecha's lawyer, Ali Kashif Khan Deshmukh, argued that she is not connected to Aryan and Arbaaz and has been wrongly framed in the case. "As Munmun was arrested with contraband, her culpable mental state is clear and evident. She was found in possession of contraband in consequence of secret information received by NCB. Hence Munmun is also a part of the network and her case can't be considered in isolation," the court added on why Dhamecha's bail application was also rejected. While rejecting the bail of all three accused the court said, "Considering the prima facie involvement of Aryan, Arbaz and Munmun in commission of a grave and serious offence, this is not a fit case for bail."

The NCB, through the additional solicitor general, has argued that Aryan Khan had knowledge of charas concealed by Arbaaz in his shoes. "The papers show that though nothing was found in Aryan's possession, 6 gms charas was found with Arbaaz, concealed in his shoes. Aryan and Arbaaz have been friends for long. They travelled together and were apprehended together. Further, both of them in their voluntary statements, disclosed that they were possessing the said substance for their consumption and enjoyment," the court said.

"Thus all these things show that Aryan had knowledge of contraband concealed by Arbaaz in his shoes," the court added. The team of Amit Desai and Satish Maneshinde representing Aryan Khan have moved to the Bombay High Court challenging the order of the special NDPS court. Dhamecha's lawyer Deshmukh has also moved the High Court.

Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, 23, who is currently lodged in Arthur Road prison in Mumbai, reportedly underwent a counselling session with NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) officials, including zonal director Sameer Wankhede and social workers. An unnamed official told an agency on Saturday that Aryan was counselled along with the seven other accused, including Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha during the session, where he reportedly said that he would work for the “upliftment of the poor” post his release.

As per the official, Aryan allegedly said he would work for the “social and financial upliftment of the poor and downtrodden” and that he’d “never do anything which could bring him publicity for the wrong reasons”. No further details were given with regard to the session or issues addressed in it.

Aryan was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau following an alleged drug seizure from a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on October 2. A special court for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act cases will pass an order on Aryan’s bail plea on October 20.

Mumbai: After day-long hearing of the bail application of Aryan Khan, 23, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, the special trial judge on Thursday reserved the order and is likely to pass his ruling on October 20, reports Swati Deshpande.

Khan will be lodged in Arthur Road jail. The NCB special counsel, ASG Anil Singh, invoked Mahatma Gandhi and freedom fighters to argue that drug menace cannot be allowed in the land whose freedom they fought for. Senior counsel Amit Desai for Aryan countered, saying that as part of the freedom struggle, what was fought for was also liberty, fundamental rights, and the doctrine of the rule of law and the need for compliance with the law and Constitutional principles. “We cannot pick up young children who are at the bottom of the food chain as consumers and put them in jails,” said Desai.

The hearing was before a packed courtroom of special NDPS judge V V Patil. The judge called for the case papers.

The court has also reserved the order in two other bail applications—those of Khan’s friend Arbaaz Merchant, 26, and Munmun Dhamecha, 28 a model from MP.

------------------

Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau special counsel, ASG Anil Singh, who concluded his submissions on Thursday, said Aryan Khan’s bail plea was misconceived at this stage as investigations are still on and the agency is seeking help of the Ministry of External Affairs to probe Khan’s alleged foreign contact and chats to probe an alleged international connection. He also said that since there is a commercial quantity of drugs recovered from other accused, the fetters on bail would apply under Section 37 of the Narcotics Drug and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The section makes it difficult for bail to be granted when an offence involves commercial quantity. The ASG also denied Khan’s submissions of no possession, as he said that since Merchant was found with charas and both admitted to wanting to smoke it, it became his “conscious possession.”

Desai said not only was no drug found on Khan, the alleged statements, both of which have been retracted, at best speak of future consumption of small quantities of charas, a drug legal in many countries for small quantities. Desai added, “Abdul Shaikh (from whom commercial quantity was allegedly recovered) was named by another accused who Khan and Merchant have no connection with, and they cannot be dragged into or made part of such conspiracy now when their arrest did not involve any abetment or conspiracy allegation.”

Singh said NCB can invoke Section 29 of the NDPS Act (conspiracy) at any stage during investigation. Desai denied the allegations and said, “It is false to say that he (Khan) is involved in any drug trafficking or drug chain and it is an inherently absurd allegation.” He said the government had in 2001 amended the Act to make it more rational and reformative, dropping a five-year punishment to one year for small quantity of drugs. “In 2017 the government brought in a policy which talks about peddler and said awareness campaigns be run to prevent drug abuse and educate and also for younger school children to sensitize them.”

To Singh’s submission that NCB is a responsible agency and doing its job, Desai said, “I fully agree with Singh about the great work that NCB is doing.” He added, “Not only in India but across the world there is a drug menace that is needed to be tackled. Kudos to the department, they say they even put their lives in danger to protect society, but liberty is of utmost importance too and the reformative doctrine be heeded.”

Desai pointed to the Rhea Chakraborty bail judgment to say that NCB had argued that celebrities be dealt with harshly as they are model citizens, but the HC had not agreed with the proposition of a ‘harsh’ treatment to them. He said, “I hope it is not happening that because of his celeb status, there is some harsh outlook by the agency.” Singh also said the NDPS Act looks at the intent of the accused first. Desai cited an SC judgment to say it can only be looked at during trial, not bail proceedings.

Khan was arrested on October 3 following a raid by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on a Mumbai-Goa cruise ship at the international terminal in Mumbai on October 2. From Merchant and Dhamecha, NCB said it recovered 6 grams of charas and 5 gm hashish respectively.

The bail pleas of other accused including Aachit Kumar, 22, who NCB on Thursday said is a “peddler” and Nupur Satija, Mohak Jaiswal and Avin Sahu will be taken up for reply of the NCB next week.

------------------

Mumbai: A magistrate court on Friday rejected Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan’s plea for bail on grounds of maintainability and jurisdiction of court. It rejected bail pleas of his friend Arbaaz Merchant, 26, and Munmun Dhamecha, 28, as well.

The court only pronounced the operative part of the order, and reasons will follow later as it was the end of the court day and dictation would take long. Khan’s counsel Satish Maneshinde said in court that it was fine if the operative part was delivered because if necessary, they would ready themselves to approach sessions court. Later, he declined to comment. But with a weekend ahead, it will be two nights in jail before a fresh bail plea gets taken up for hearing in sessions court.

All three were arrested on October 3 following a raid by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on a cruise ship which led to seizure of drugs. Maneshinde said with “not even an ounce” of contraband found on him, he ought not to be denied bail and with alleged chats on his phone leading up to no recovery, he cannot be kept in custody for a minute.

The applications are “not maintainable” before his court, said additional chief metropolitan magistrate R M Nerlikar, after hearing and accepting preliminary objections raised by NCB special counsel, ASG Anil Singh, and agency’s prosecutor Advait Sethna.

Singh cited judgments, including the one by Bombay HC granting bail to actor Rhea Chakraborty, where it was held all NDPS offences are non-bailable and hence the case is exclusively triable by the special court, which is at the sessions court, rendering the magistrate sans jurisdiction to consider bail.

The sessions court has jurisdiction to hear and grant regular bail and by that virtue also consider a plea for interim bail, while the magistrate can only grant remand, said Singh, stressing he was not trampling on anyone’s right to seek bail. “Am not saying they cannot seek it elsewhere. It is not maintainable here (Esplanade court),” he said, adding that on October 7 the court had already forwarded the case to the special sessions court.

The court first heard Maneshinde and advocates Taraq Sayed for Merchant and Ali Kaashif Khan for Dhamecha. They said not only is the magistrate empowered to grant bail, on merits too they are entitled as NCB has shown no material. Sayed said the NCB case, if accepted, merely says 6 gm charas was found on him, which attracts at best a maximum of 6 months’ in jail.

Singh said the NCB case against 17 persons so far is one of criminal conspiracy where witness and evidence will be common. There cannot be two trials and granting bail to some would hamper probe as influential accused can tamper with evidence and witnesses. Lawyers for the trio denied being part of any criminal conspiracy. Maneshinde said merely because section 27 A (trafficking) under NDPS Act is invoked, it cannot be foisted on Khan.

Maneshinde said Khan “belongs to a respectable family with roots in society.” “Merely because he is from an influential family, it cannot be a ground to suggest he may tamper with a probe or to deny him bail.” He cited a judgment which essentially says the effect of an unhealthy practice of denying or opposing bail is that a maliciously prosecuted person remains in jail.

“They (NCB) say they have chats, but for bail they can be disregarded,” said Maneshinde. The ASG said, “chats are relevant... the chat refers to 'bulk' quantities.” He said suppliers were arrested and now a Nigerian too with commercial quantities. The court remanded the foreign national Chinedu Igwe to NCB custody till October 11.

------------------------

The additional chief metropolitan magistrate on Friday rejected the bail plea of Aryan Khan, Munmun Dhamecha and Arbaaz Merchant, saying that the applications were “not maintainable”. The trio were arrested following a raid on a cruise liner on Sunday.

Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), opposed the bail pleas, stating that the matter should be heard by a special NDPS court, and not a magistrate court. Responding, Aryan’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde said there are various offences that can be tried at special court, but one can approach the magistrate court.

On Thursday, Maneshinde had said that nothing was found on Aryan and the NCB sought his custody on the basis of WhatsApp chats which were about football. In court on Friday, the ASG said those chats were about procuring drugs in “bulk, not footballs”.

“We have been saying from Day 1 that there are several chats which are shocking in nature and various code words have been used. At this stage, we cannot reveal any of it. We are examining why he wanted drugs in bulk,” an NCB officer told mid-day. The officer added that the NCB suspect football is a code word for drugs.

The NCB also argued that Aryan is an influential person, and if granted bail, he may tamper with the evidence. To which, Maneshinde responded that just because he belongs to an affluent family, it doesn’t mean he will tamper with the evidence.

Advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh that the NCB has not been able to show the connection between his client, Munmun, and Aryan and Arbaaz. 

“Two more people, Somaiya and Baldev, were there on the floor where drugs were seized. Why were they not arrested?” asked Khan.

Advocate Taraq Sayed for Arbaaz Merchant said that he has no connection with the “co-accused. Allegedly I was found with 6 grams of charas. The prosecution is not providing the CCTV camera footage [of the seizure], saying that it will prejudice the ongoing probe.”

The court sent all three accused to judicial custody. They have been shifted to Arthur Road jail where they are in quarantine. “There is a strict rule of the high court not to allow any accused without a negative a COVID-19 RT-PCR test. Today, they were brought in with negative test reports, and as per the protocols, they have been kept in a quarantine centre inside the prison for a week, “ said Nitin Vaichan, superintendent, Arthur Road jail.

Meanwhile, the trio’s lawyers said they will file their bail pleas before the special NDPS court on Saturday.

-------------------