Following a tip-off on the night of 2 October, a team from the Mumbai unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), posing as passengers, boarded Cordelia Cruises’ ship Empress, where a Delhi-based events company organized a two-day musical tour. . Among the guests was superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan (23). Led by Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, the NCB team started the search and claimed to have seized 13 grams of cocaine, 5 grams of MD, 21 grams of charas, 22 tablets of MDMA. (ecstasy) and Rs 1.33 lakh in cash. The next day, the NCB arrested Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merch Ant and 18 others for alleged consumption, sale and purchase of banned substances.
Khan was charged under sections 8(c) r/w 20(b), 27, 28, 29 and 35 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. These sections are non-bailable and if convicted, Khan could face up to 20 years in prison. While no medicine was found with him, 6 grams of charas was reportedly hidden in the merchant’s shoes. During investigation, NCB claims that Khan and Merchant admitted to being in possession of the said substance for consumption. The agency also alleged that Khan’s WhatsApp chats showed that he was in contact with foreign nationals and unknown people who were suspected to be part of an international drug ring.
On October 4, during the first hearing in the case, the NCB sought Khan’s police custody till October 11, but got it only till October 7. When it ended, he was sent to judicial custody for 14 days. The next day, Khan moved the court for both interim and regular bail. The magistrate court hearing the case dismissed the bail plea on the ground that it was “non-maintainable” in that court. Three days later, a special NDPS court heard the bail plea and directed the NCB to file its reply within three days. After hearing the arguments of both the sides on October 13, the court adjourned the hearing to the next day. On October 14, the judge of the special court of NDPS reserved his order. With courts closed for the weekend and other holidays, the next hearing was scheduled for October 20. On that day, Khan’s bail plea was rejected.
Bail under the NDPS Act has always been the subject of considerable scrutiny.
In the 18-page order, Judge VV Patil said there was prima facie evidence against Khan as he knew that his friend was in possession of drugs. The judge also noted that his WhatsApp chats showed nexus with suppliers and peddlers. Several legal experts criticized Khan’s confession and the denial of bail based on WhatsApp chats – both of which are unacceptable in court. No medicine was found from him. On 21 October, Khan moved the Bombay High Court, which fixed it for hearing on 26 October. Khan and two others got bail the next day. Two others were granted bail by the NDPS court the previous day.
Bail under the NDPS Act has always been the subject of considerable scrutiny. Former DG of Uttar Pradesh Police Vikram Singh says, “There is no continuity in the provisions of bail. “Last year, comedian Bharti and her husband were granted bail within two days even though ganja was recovered from them. Actress Rhea Chakraborty, on the other hand, was kept in jail for a long time though no drug was found on her. ,
Days after Aryan’s bail was rejected on October 20, the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had recommended a more humane approach to prison escaping for drug users and addicts. In its review of the NDPS Act, the ministry had sought to decriminalize possession of small quantities of drugs for personal consumption.
Meanwhile, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti claimed that Khan was being targeted by law enforcement agencies for her Muslim surname, triggering a political drama. Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik alleged that the NCB raid on Cruise was “fake”, and the BJP was using central agencies to “defame Maharashtra, the state government and Bollywood”. He questioned the presence of two independent witnesses during the raid; One of them, Kiran Gosavi, was reportedly associated with the BJP.
Gosavi, whose selfie with Khan at the NCB office went viral, disappeared soon after Khan’s arrest and a lookout notice against him. On October 24, Gosavi’s bodyguard and other independent witness Prabhakar Cell said in a notarized affidavit that Gosavi had demanded Rs 25 crore on behalf of Wankhede for Khan’s release. SAIL also alleged that he was made to sign blank panchnama.
The next day, the NCB issued a press release saying that Wankhede had denied all allegations. He also wrote a letter to the Mumbai Police Commissioner, requesting him to “ensure that no legal legal action is taken against him by “unknown persons” for “ulterior motives”. On October 25, NCB’s deputy Director General Dnyaneshwar Singh said that an investigation has been started against Wankhede. The same day, Gosavi appeared in Lucknow offering to surrender, but the UP Police said he did not have the authority to do so. There is no shortage of drama.
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