New Delhi/Mumbai: Four-and-a half years after it began probing the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, the CBI is learned to have closed the case and given a clean chit to actor Rhea Chakraborty, bringing curtains on a case that had gripped the country, reports Rajshekhar Jha. Rajput was found dead at his Bandra flat on June 14, 2020.

The probe agency is learned to have filed a closure report in two of the cases it was investigating, sources said. While one case was filed in Aug 2021 in Patna by Rajput's father against Rhea, her kin and others, the other was filed in Sept by Rhea against Rajput's sister and doctor.

The closure report in both was filed in a special Mumbai court, sources said. Rhea's lawyer Satish Maneshinde said, "Rhea Chakraborty had to undergo untold miseries and was behind bars for 27 days for no fault of hers until Justice Sarang V Kotwal released her on bail. I salute her and her family for having kept silent and yet suffered the inhuman treatment they were meted out. Innocent people were hounded and paraded before the media and investigative authorities. I hope this does not repeat in any case."

Rajput was found dead at his Bandra apartment on June 14, 2020, six days after his PR manager Disha Salian died. Mumbai police, which first probed the case, termed it as a case of suspected suicide, although no suicide note had been found. The provisional post-mortem suggested the cause of death was asphyxia due to hanging.

Coincidentally, on Wednesday, Disha's father Satish Salian alleged his daughter was gangraped and murdered. He has filed a plea demanding a CBI probe into her death, alleging that Rajput was visibly frightened and repeatedly expressed fear that "those people" responsible for her death would not spare him and that he would be killed. He has said both deaths are interconnected and part of a larger conspiracy.

The CBI FIR in Rajput's case named Rhea and her kin Indrajit Chakraborty, Sandhya and Showik apart from her associates Samuel Miranda and Shruti Modi.

The FIR, initially filed by Bihar police, had sections of IPC related to criminal conspiracy, abetment of suicide, wrongful restraint, wrongful confinement, theft, criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal intimidation.

After Rajput's cremation at Vile Parle's Pawan Hans crematorium, Mumbai police began their investigation, recording statements from film and casting director Mukesh Chhabra, Rajput's girlfriend Rhea, and his managerial staff. In July that year, producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali was questioned, stating he had offered Rajput four films, but eventually featured in none.

Rhea, who confirmed being in a relationship with Rajput on Twitter (now X), demanded a CBI inquiry. Mumbai police also recorded statements of filmmaker Aditya Chopra and three psychiatrists. Meanwhile, an FIR was registered against Rhea in Patna on July 28, and a team of Bihar police reached Mumbai to probe the case.

The Enforcement Directorate inquired about the money laundering angle in the case and questioned Rhea but they found no substance against her. Subsequently, the NCB initiated a probe against her along with others on allegations of procurement of drugs for Rajput which led to her arrest. In Aug 2021, the CBI filed an FIR against Rhea and others, and the ED too summoned her for questioning.

An AIIMS forensic team was roped in by the CBI on August 22, and the ED unearthed a drug angle in the case, involving the Narcotics Control Bureau.

In September 2021, Rhea filed an FIR against Rajput's sisters and doctor, which was transferred to the CBI as well.

This is the second case which has been closed as well, sources said. In October, reports emerged that the AIIMS panel had dismissed the murder theory, although the CBI stated they were probing all angles.

Forty days after the registration of an FIR against the staffers of Edelweiss ARC for abetting the suicide of renowned art director Nitin Desai, no arrests have been made. According to highly placed sources in Raigad police, the suspects are not at their residences and their phones are switched off. The accused have approached the high court to quash the FIR but as of now, no interim relief has been given to them. Legal experts said further delay will weaken the case.

Desai, 58, allegedly committed suicide by hanging inside his N D Studios, Karjat on August 2. After the body was found, Neha Desai, his wife, gave a complaint to the Raigad police that officials of Edelweiss ARC (Asset Reconstruction Company) had been harassing the art director over a loan of Rs 181 crore which led to his death. Based on the complaint a FIR was filed by the Khalapur police against five Edelweiss officers—CEO R K Bansal, Chairman Rashesh Shah, Smit Shah, Keyoor Mehta and interim resolution professional Jitendra Kothari.

After the registration of the FIR, Raigad Superintendent of Police Somnath Gharge, constituted a special team led by Vikram Kadam, deputy superintendent of police, to investigate the matter. It comprised an inspector, three assistant inspectors and four constables. The team summoned the managing director of the company to furnish documents related to the loan given to Desai. After three rounds of questioning, he wasn’t summoned again.

“While scrutinizing documents, we have received a lot of important evidence. There is also solid proof that pinpoints some of the accused,” said a highly placed source in the Raigad police. “Thousands of pages have been scrutinized by the police, most of them were related to the accounting of the loans but some of them have given us vital clues as well,” he added.

Meanwhile, cops found all the accused in the cases had switched off their cellphones and gone incommunicado. “We are figuring out their whereabouts. We can’t say as of now whether they are absconding but we can surely conclude they are not being found,” an officer added.

The team that visited the homes of the accused has made a note of their absence in the station diary. A highly placed source said, “For the past 20 to 25 days, despite conducting rigorous searches, the accused haven’t been traced. The search party has visited the places multiple times and various means of tracing are being conducted.” Gharge, the Raigad SP, told mid-day, “I can’t comment anything about the case as of now, as the matter is being investigated.”

Senior advocate Satish Maneshinde said that arresting any person in the case is the right of an investigating officer. “As far as this case is concerned, the accused have approached the court for relief and hearings are being conducted. I don’t think the delay in the arrests in this offence will hamper any investigation as retrieval of documents and electronic records is always possible. The victim here has left a lot of evidence and that needs to be examined. This is not a simple case. He appears to have been under pressure. What that pressure was will be disclosed only after a thorough examination of the material available.”

Senior advocate Uday Warunjikar stated that the case of abetment of suicide should have proximity with the act done by the accused. “The act done by the accused will have to be investigated and then proximity with the suicide should be the test. Delay on the part of police may prove fatal in such cases,” he said.

According to senior advocate Himanshu Marathkar, delay in arrests or investigations increases the risk of evidence tampering, which may lead to the wrong set of individuals being implicated. “Accused individuals or their associates may have the opportunity to destroy, alter or manipulate evidence, making it more challenging to establish the facts of the case. This underscores the importance of swift action to secure critical evidence. Time is a critical factor in investigations and arrests in cases like suicide. In the context of this specific case, if the delay is prolonged and not justified, it may indeed weaken the prosecution’s position. It’s essential for the authorities to strike a balance between conducting a thorough investigation and promptly moving the case forward to avoid undue delays that might hinder justice.”

He added, “The passage of more than a month after the FIR was filed without any arrests or seizures indicates that the investigation is being approached cautiously. It’s possible that the police are in the process of gathering strong evidence before making any arrests. Given the involvement of company officials, the case might be complicated with layers of bureaucratic and legal complexities. The high court not granting any interim relief suggests that the matter is being taken seriously, but it’s also not indicative of guilt. It just means that the court hasn’t seen sufficient reason to provide any relief to the accused at this stage”.

Edelweiss Group claimed, in a statement, that “false and motivated allegations of harassment have been made against four very senior executives, most of whom were operationally distant to the entire transaction and two of whom may only ever have had a single interaction each with the deceased.”

“What was a legitimate exercise of a lender’s legal right to recover debt from a wilful defaulter, through lawfully instituted legal proceedings has been labelled as harassment in the FIR and the four respectable senior executives are charged with a most bizarre charge of abetment of suicide. In the case of similarly placed lenders, various high courts, including the Bombay High Court, have consistently held that seeking the repayment of a debt does not amount to an abetment of suicide. Based on this position, Edelweiss officers named in the FIR have challenged the FIR before the Bombay High Court by invoking the extraordinary jurisdiction of the court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The last hearing was on September 7 and the matter is sub judice,” the statement read.

Edelweiss Group maintained that its officers have been fully cooperating with the investigation. 

Its reply to a question on the officials’ whereabouts read, “The group and its officers have also provided the investigating officer with all relevant and summoned documents and information spanning nearly 3,700+ pages to date. Edelweiss is committed to upholding its duty as a law-abiding corporate citizen and will continue to fully cooperate with the investigation.”

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court recently rejected the bail plea of Bollywood actor Ajaz Khan saying his role in drug trafficking is disclosed by a witness whose statement was that “he was selling pills and he was exploiting young boys and girls, by supplying them drug”.

Justice Bharati Dangre in an order on August 30 said, “It can be seen that though there is recovery of small quantity of contraband from the applicant, he is connected to recovery of commercial quantity from the co-accused and, therefore, the case sought to be projected by the counsel (Satish) Maneshinde, cannot be accepted.”

Appearing for Khan, Maneshinde had argued that the NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) had detained the actor in March 2021 but there were contradictions in the arrest time, and he had been “roped in …in a mala fide manner and the case against him, built by the prosecution, is based on conjectures, speculations and sweeping assumptions”. Maneshinde said a small quantity, 31 Alprazolam tablets, approximately 4.5gm, were seized.

Centre’s counsel Shreeram Shirsat, opposing relief to Khan, had argued that houses of the co-accused were raided and various other drugs seized and on their information, Khan’s house was raided. He said, “It is not only the quantity of Alprazolam which would make him liable but the complaint accuses him of his involvement in the chain of procurement, distribution, transport of the drug seized in commercial quantity and a serious apprehension is expressed that in case the applicant is released on bail, he will tamper with the evidence and influence the witnesses and once again may involve himself in trafficking of drug.”

The HC order said, “Considering the drug to be a menace and considering that in the past also, the applicant was arrested in connection with a C. R. which invoked Section 8(c) read with Section 22(b) of the Act, though has been released on bail, since the quantity was found to be non-commercial quantity, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant would again indulge in similar activity, since while on bail in the previous C. R. , he has committed the present offence.”

After the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) gave a clean chit to Aryan Khan on Friday in last year’s drugs-on-cruise case, stating that there was no recovery of drugs from him, nor was there any concrete evidence to prove that he conspired with the other accused, senior lawyer Satish Maneshinde, who represented Aryan Khan, has now sought a similar enquiry into Rhea Chakraborty’s drug case related to Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.

He says, “I demanded on social media that there should be an enquiry in Rhea’s case, and NCB can form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and investigate this case, too. S N Pradhan, DG, NCB, said just a day before that WhatsApp chats are not admissible in the court. No drugs were found on her. No tests were done. Why should she suffer? Her case was also handled by a set of officers who were part of Aryan’s case, too. I am requesting the central government authorities and the PMO for this.”

The lawyer adds, “It was very nice of S N Pradhan and Deputy DG Sanjay Singh to form a SIT and reveal the truths of the investigation in the Aryan Khan case. They should be doing the same for the Rhea Chakraborty case, too. In fact, I would say that they should do it for all the cases. Deepika Padukone, Rakul Preet Singh and Sara Ali Khan were all paraded at the NCB office. The DG NCB should investigate the matter.”

In an interview with a news channel, he sought enquiry into all such cases handled by the NCB officials, saying, “Bollywood actors have life of 10-20 years only (in the industry) and they have to be fit, which can’t be done with drugs. But for popularity they (the NCB) did this and paraded stars.”

He added, “For the last three years, the NCB has troubled a lot of people and action is needed against these officials. There were just WhatsApp chats and no test was done.”

The NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau), Mumbai, led by Sameer Wankhede, arrested actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan last year in October based on a statement by his friend, Arbaaz Merchant. After an eight-month-long investigation, the SIT headed by IPS officer Sanjay Kumar Singh gave a clean chit to Aryan, again based on the statement of Merchant, on Friday. According to sources, Merchant told the SIT that he did not make any statement before the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Mumbai. 

He also claimed his signatures were taken on a blank paper by NCB, Mumbai officers. In October, Mumbai, NCB arrested Khan after Merchant, in his voluntary statement, said that the 6 gram charas procured from him in a raid on a cruise ship, was for his own consumption and that of Aryan Khan. Later, NCB, Mumbai recorded a statement from Khan where he too confessed to consumption of the drugs. Apart from Khan, the agency has also given a clean chit to 5 more accused including four organisers. The charge sheet filed before the special NDPS court was against 14 people and six were given a clean chit due to lack of evidence. The 6,000-pages charge sheet was submitted before a special NDPS court on Friday, the court is yet to take cognisance of it. 

In a statement issued by the SIT, its chief Sanjay Kumar Singh said, “The SIT carried out its investigation in an objective manner. The touchstone of the principle of proof beyond reasonable doubt has been applied. Based on the investigation carried out by the SIT, a complaint against 14 persons under various sections of the NDPS Act is being filed. Complaints against the remaining six persons are not being filed due to lack of sufficient evidence.” 

Speaking to mid-day he said, “Our job was to conduct an impartial investigation to reinstate the faith of people in the NCB. During the course of investigation we didn’t find any evidence against the six accused including Aryan Khan.”

“The arrest and detention of Aryan Khan for 26 days was unjustified, more particularly when he was not found in possession of any drugs, there was no evidence of any kind, there was no material of any nature of violation of any law, much less the NDPS Act. We are happy that the Special Investigation Team under Sanjay Kumar Singh investigated the case in an objective manner and decided not to file a complaint against Aryan Khan for lack of sufficient evidence. Satya Meva Jayate,” said Khan’s lawyer, Satish Maneshinde.

Sources in the agency have confirmed that Khan has also said in his statement that he never confessed about consumption, and never said that the drug found in his friend’s possession was for his consumption. The first investigating officer, Ashish Ranjan, who has been suspended by the NCB DG, had recorded the initial statements of Merchant and Khan.

According to their first voluntary statement given to NCB Superintendent V V Singh, Merchant said that the drug was for consumption by him and his friend Aryan Khan, and based on his statement, the agency secured the two friends custody from Killa court in October last year.

While recording his statement before the SIT, Merchant retracted his statement, and said that he was forced to sign on a blank paper and he never made such a statement. “The entire case was based on his statement. He now claims that he was forced to sign on a blank paper and now he has retracted the statement which was the only evidence against Khan. As there is some truth in his statement given before SIT, Khan’s name has been dropped from the charge sheet as there was not sufficient evidence.” a senior officer of NCB told mid-day. 

According to Merchant's statement to NCB, he was travelling with Khan to the cruise party. In front of Investigating Officer Aashish Ranjan Prasad, Merchant accepted that he had kept charas inside his shoes. He did not say that the drug that was recovered from him was meant for any other person including Khan.

In the second voluntary statement of Merchant given before Ranjan Prasad, he said that Khan was aware that he (Arbaaz) was an occasional consumer, and that is why he told him (Merchant) not to carry any hash to the cruise, as NCB was very active these days and they (Merchant and Khan) will be in trouble.

In the initial voluntary statement given to the first IO of the case, Khan had confessed to consumption and said that the charas found from Merchant was for their consumption. While recording the statement before SIT, Khan also retracted this statement and said that he never made such a statement before anyone. As per the internal note of SIT, Khan in his initial statement, had said that the drug found on Merchant was for consumption, not specifically saying whose.

The NCB has also cited a statement of crucial witness, Prabhakar Sail who died recently, saying that he was asked to sign on a blank paper by another panch witness, K P Gosavi, who was present at the time of searches and he (Sail) did not witness any drug recovery. 

The second aspect on which the NCB led by Wankhede had relied on, was WhatsApp chat and through Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, the agency claimed before the sessions and Bombay High Court, that Khan was part of an international drug cartel. However, the SIT has said those chats were not related to this case and hence there was no relevance. 

The SIT in its internal note has also said, “It is strange to note that in spite clear denial by Arbaaz regarding the involvement of Aryan in the procurement and possession of drugs from him, the investigating officer started looking at WhatsApp chats of Aryan Khan, even formally seizing his mobile phone. It appears that the IO was motivated to somehow implicate Aryan Khan in the drug case. Khan, while arguing for his bail before the Bombay High Court, argued on the seizure of the mobile phone, saying it was not formally seized by the agency.”

In the internal note submitted to the DG NCB, the agency has also claimed, “In the Punchnama that was drawn after the search and seizure at the Cruise Terminal, it has been mentioned that the mobile phone of Aryan Khan was voluntarily handed over by him to the Investigating Officer. It is to be noted that this was not followed by formal seizure procedure as laid down in the law.” 

“Investigation has further disclosed that data extraction of Aryan’s mobile was done and it contained various WhatsApp chats with different people alluding to consumption of weed, hashish, etc. Witnesses and accused were asked to join the investigation based on the contents of the WhatsApp chat treating them as if contents of WhatsApp chats are the primary source of evidence,” the NCB’s internal note reads further. 

According to the NCB, the Supreme Court has time and again questioned the evidentiary value of WhatsApp chats. Therefore, “our excessive reliance on WhatsApp messages will be severely counterproductive during the trial of the case, considering the fact that integrity of data extracted from Aryan’s phone is questionable as there is no seizure memo for Aryan’s phone to show how and when his phone was seized.” the internal note reads further.

After Khan and the others were arrested and after allegations by NCP Minister Nawab Malik, the NCB formed a SIT headed by Singh to probe the matter further. After the clean chit from NCB, the family of Malik, from his Twitter handle said, “Now that Aryan Khan and 5 others get a clean chit will NCB take action against Sameer Wankhede his team and the private army or will it shield the culprits?” 

According to sources, based on the findings, the SIT has submitted a detailed note to NCB DG SN Pradhan to take action against the investigating officer and Wankhede. Pradhan has also initiated departmental enquiry against them. Wankhede is already facing a vigilance probe and two officers, VV Singh and Ashish Ranjan, have been suspended. Wankhede was not available for comment, but sources close to him said that the decision to arrest Khan and others was collective and everyone was informed with the evidence. Apart from Khan, the four organisers of the cruise, Gopal ji Anand, Samir Sehgal, Bhaskar Arora, Manav Singhal and another accused, Avin Sahu, have not been charge sheeted due to lack of evidence.

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.

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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)”.

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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

NCB officers at actor Shah Rukh Khan's Bandra residence on Thursday

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday said that it will hear the bail plea of Aryan Khan (23), son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, in the cruise drug bust case on October 26.

A day after his bail application was rejected by the special trial court, Aryan moved the HC. He has taken additional grounds before the HC for his bail plea, including denial of allegation of his non-cooperation of any kind in his remand pleas till date, and no claims by the NCB so far that he has not given any names and hence, claiming now that he was not giving names or details of persons is “erroneous and contrary to the record”.

Aryan’s counsel Satish Maneshinde mentioned his bail application before Justice N W Sambre and sought a hearing. He said there was nothing found on the 23-year-old and that there was no evidence at all in the case registered by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) against him.

The trial court had also rejected bail applications of co-accused Arbaaz Merchant (26) and Munmun Dhamecha (28). While both filed separate petitions for bail before the Bombay high court, Dhamecha’s lawyer Ali Kaashif Khan also sought and was granted October 26 as the date of hearing, after ASG Anil Singh for NCB sought time till then.

Aryan’s bail plea states, “There is no presumption in law that merely because a person is influential, there is a likelihood of tampering with investigation.” The bail rejection order of the sessions court had cited it as one of the reasons in denying him bail. The NCB had cited the Bombay HC order in the bail rejection for Showik Chakraborty, arrested last year in connection with the drugs probe linked to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, to argue a case of ‘conspiracy’ and the trial court had relied on it too, but Aryan’s plea says that the judgment “is not applicable to the facts” of his case “as in that case, the accused [Chakraborty] was allegedly a conduit between consumers and suppliers…and that he was “part of chain of drug dealers”, while the allegations against him [Aryan] are “only of possession of small quantity and personal consumption”.

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. 

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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.

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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.

Mumbai: Noting that reformation is to be considered when accused are young and have no antecedents in any drug offences, the Bombay High Court recently granted bail to a duo arrested in June following a raid by police on a private bungalow at Igatpuri.

The Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) imposes deterrent sentences on those who traffic in significant quantities and addicts, said Justice Bharati Dangre, but added that youngsters arrested first time “deserve one opportunity by restoring their freedom.”

“Adolescence and youth are the phases of lifetime, where making of irrational and impulsive decisions may be favoured by some,” said Justice Dangre. The Igatpuri bungalow was rented for a birthday celebration, and police found several in possession of less than 6 gm cocaine, 5 gm ganja and 1 gm charas. The party was attended by 27 persons. Police said cocaine traces were also found in the swimming pool, and blood and urine samples were positive for consumption.

Aryan Khan’s lead counsel Amit Desai and Satish Maneshinde cited this judgment to make a plea for the reformation approach before the special NDPS judge for his bail.

The men in the Igatpuri case, aged 27 and 34, represented by senior counsel Aabad Ponda, advocates Kushal Mor, Rishi Bhuta and Anurag Garg, raised several grounds, including how the accused were not apprised of their right to be searched in the presence of a magistrate. Seeking bail, the 27-year-old said cocaine found in a bag was only for consumption, as he is “purely an end user.” It is non-commercial and hence rigours on granting bail are not attracted, his lawyers argued.

From the party organizer, the second bail seeker, there was no seizure on his personal search. The lawyers said all contraband was for personal consumption, none for sale or distribution. Ponda pleaded for HC to adopt a reformative approach towards youngsters who could be lured by temptation and curiosity about the prohibited substance, landing them in trouble.

Justice Dangre said the challenge today focuses on the issue of drug addiction in youth and how to tackle it. “Experimentation with alcohol and drugs is common. Unfortunately, the youths do not foresee the link between their action today and its consequences tomorrow. It is crucial to uncover the root of youths and young adults, which necessarily would involve posing questions, understanding the problems at hand and having an insight into if and how badly this problem would be eradicated and its progress stalled,” she reasoned in her order, adding, “It is indeed a harrowing reality.”

The duo were arrested on June 27. The special trial court had denied them bail. The HC granted them bail on August 24, after nearly two months of incarceration. The HC also said the Section 50 requirement of informing suspects of their right was not complied with.

“The suspect has to be clearly informed that he has a right to be searched before either of the authorities and, if he demands, he can be searched before them,” said Justice Dangre. The drugs seized also included 1 gm charas and 6 gm ganja—both small-quantity.

The HC also rejected a submission of the prosecution, saying one of the two who brought the substance and offered it to other accused present at the party would “by no stretch of imagination assign him the role of a drug peddler.”

Mumbai: A special judge at sessions court on Monday set Wednesday as the day to hear a fresh bail application made by Aryan Khan, 23, son of filmstar Shah Rukh Khan, and to receive a reply from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to the plea.

The fixing of date for reply saw animated submission. Khan’s new lead and senior counsel Amit Desai with Satish Maneshinde said, “Khan is the only one on whom no drugs were found, and it is a question of his liberty.” Special prosecutors A M Chimalkar and Advait Sethna for NCB sought time of one week initially.

Desai told special judge V V Patil, when hte NCB counsel first sought a week to file reply, “We are in the court’s hands to see that justice is to be done. It is an admitted fact that nothing—no drugs—was found on Khan. The NCB was ready and had argued the bail application last Thursday and hence they would be ready here as well, and the plea may be heard on Tuesday itself.”

“Since Sunday to Friday he was in PC,” said Desai, adding that investigation of course could go on. “It doesn’t stop if bail is granted.”

Sethna said, “Normally we seek one week to file a reply. We need time to file a reply to do justice to both sides. The matter is of some importance. Need time till Thursday at least.” He added, “We leave it to the court’s conscience.” The NCB counsel said three or four of the accused have filed for bail, and the agency needs time to file a reply as simultaneously investigation is going on and a “lot of material is being gathered.”

Khan and his friend Arbaaz Merchant, 26, were arrested on October 3 following an October 2 raid by the NCB team led by zonal director Sameer Wankhede at an international terminal for a Mumbai-Goa cruise.

On October 8, additional chief metropolitan magistrate R M Nerlikar denied them and a co-accused Munmun Dhamecha bail on the grounds that the magistrate’s court lacks jurisdiction to decide the bail application. Ayaz Khan, counsel for co-accused Nupur Satija, said he had filed for her bail earlier and ought to be heard. Her plea is on grounds that the alleged recovery and search and seizure was “illegal.” Dhamecha, a resident of MP, served her bail application through her lawyer Ali Kaashif Khan. Merchant also filed for bail on Monday.

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A Special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) court in Mumbai said that it would hear the bail plea of Aryan Khan, accused in Mumbai cruise drug bust case tomorrow. Special judge VV Patil who heard the matter on Monday, posted it for consideration on Wednesday after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) sought time to file its response.

A Mumbai Magistrate court had, on Thursday, sent Aryan, son of Shah Rukh Khan, and seven others to judicial custody for 14 days. He is currently lodged at the Arthur Road prison. On Friday, the Esplanade court rejected the bail plea of Khan, Arbaaz Seth Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha.

On Monday, while senior advocate Amit Desai and advocate Satish Maneshinde, appearing for Khan, had sought an early hearing, preferably that afternoon or on Tuesday, special public prosecutor AM Chimalker representing the NCB said that investigation was ongoing and evidence was being gathered, so NCB would require a week to file its response.

Maneshinde and Desai opposed this, saying, “Bail does not stop investigation. There was no recovery (of any contraband) from him (Khan). So far as this boy is concerned, he has spent seven days in custody. There is nothing with him, no other material.”

SPP Advait Sethna, also appearing for NCB, said, “There is no urgency in this matter,” adding that normally the NCB takes a week to file a response. The court eventually said that it will hear the plea on Wednesday.

A total of 20 people, including two Nigerian nationals, have been arrested so far in the case related to the seizure of drugs following a raid at a party on the cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on October 2.

— Agencies

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Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan has to spend a few more days at the Arthur Road Jail as the special NDPS court has given two days’ time to the NCB to file their reply to the bail applications. The court is set to hear the bail pleas of Aryan and other accused in the cruise liner drugs haul case on Wednesday.

After Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officers sought seven days’ time from the court to file response to the bail applications, saying that they needed time as there are five bail applications, Aryan’s lawyer senior advocate Amit Desai told the special NDPS court that it was a matter of personal liberty as Aryan has been behind bars since the past seven days even though nothing was found on his person. 

“I am not even arguing for the bail, I just want it to be heard today or tomorrow.” Desai said. 

Senior advocate Satish Maneshinde, who also argued for Aryan, said, “The court has given two days’ time to NCB to file their response and the matter will be heard on Wednesday.” 

Aryan, in his bail application, said he has been falsely implicated in the case even as nothing was found from him. 

“The applicant is the son of a prominent Bollywood film actor. The applicant is innocent and has not committed any crime whatsoever. The applicant has been falsely implicated in the present case,” the bail application states.

It further added, “The prosecution is relying solely upon certain alleged WhatsApp chats to entangle him in the present proceedings without veracity of accuracy of the chats.” 

The bail plea has also stated that the WhatsApp chats have no links with the case being investigated by NCB.

Aryan’s lawyers have also requested the court to allow one member of his family inside the courtroom during the hearing to take instructions.

Apart from Aryan, the court is likely to hear bail pleas of four other accused—Arbaaz Merchant, Mohak Jaswal, Nupur Satija, and Munmun Dhamecha—on Wednesday.

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.

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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.

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Officers escort Aryan Khan out of Killa court on Thursday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

The Killa court on Thursday refused the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) request for further custody of Aryan Khan and other accused in the cruise liner drug-bust case, and sent them to judicial remand. Enough time was given for interrogation, it stated, adding that sending them to further remand of the NCB will violate their fundamental rights. The NCB had sought the custody of all the eight accused, held from the cruise on Sunday, till October 11.

Ideally, the accused should be taken to the prison when in judicial custody. However, Aryan's lawyer Satish Maneshinde urged the court to allow them to stay in the NCB's custody. He also requested for their judicial remand under NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede.

Wankhede also requested to keep them in the NCB's custody, stating that the prison department would not admit the accused without Covid-19 test reports. The court allowed the appeals.

Seeking their remand, the NCB, through Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, told the court it has arrested another accused, Aachit Kumar. “He is a supplier to Arbaaz Merchant and Aryan Khan. His name was revealed by Aryan, and hence we need further custody for their confrontation.”

In its remand application, the anti-drug police stated that a confrontation of all accused with party organisers has become imperative for the probe. “New factual details have surfaced over the past two days and we need some more time,” read its application.

Defending his client, Maneshinde told the court that Aryan was a guest at the cruise party and was invited by a friend, Pratik Gaba. He said that he has chats where there is no discussion about a rave party. 

Aryan was probably invited to add more glamour to the party, said Maneshinde, and claimed that Gaba invited Merchant since he is friends with Aryan. Both friends went to the cruise party together, but Aryan has nothing to do with the drugs found on Merchant. “We cannot be made hostage, so that they arrest others involved in the case,” he told the court. Advocate Taraq Sayed, Merchant’s counsel, said the NCB can't be given custody just for confrontation. “Confrontation can be done anytime. How long does it take?”

Advocate Ali Kashif Khan Deshmukh, who appeared for model Munmun Dhamecha, said she doesn't know Aryan and Merchant, and that the NCB seized drugs from the room, not from her possession. 

“There is absolutely nothing about Munmun, so why are they seeking her custody?” Khan asked in the court. “If this is the case, then around 1,300 people partying on the cruise should have been arrested.” 

The court then observed, “Claiming custody is their [NCB] right, but simply remanding the accused in custody would violate their fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution. Enough time was given to NCB for the interrogation.”

Maneshinde and others then filed an interim bail application, which the NCB opposed, stating that it is not maintainable as it is going to file a stay. Initially, the court agreed to hear the interim bail plea on Thursday itself, but later adjourned the matter to till Friday [today]. The NCB also said it has arrested a Nigerian national, a foreign link in the case, and he will be produced in court on Friday.