Cruise drugs case: Special court refuses bail to Aryan Khan
The bail request for Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, and two others in connection with the seizure of banned drugs on a cruise was denied by special court in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Special Judge VV Patil, designated to hear cases related to the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, rejected the bail pleas of Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and model Munmun Dhamecha.They will have to approach the Mumbai High Court for bail.
The trio was arrested on October 3 by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for alleged conspiracy, possession, consumption, purchase and trafficking of drugs.
Aryan and the others have been booked for offences under Sections 8(c), 20(b), 27, 28, 29 and 35 of the NDPS Act. They are presently in judicial custody. While Aryan and Arbaaz are at the Arthur Road prison in Mumbai, Munmun is lodged at the Byculla women’s prison in Mumbai.
Aryan had, in his bail plea, said NCB’s contention that he was involved in conspiracy and illicit drug trafficking was absurd, and pointed out that there was no recovery of drugs made from him. NCB, however, opposed the plea and said Aryan had been consuming drugs for a few years now and was in touch with some persons, who appear to be a part of an international drug network for procurement of drugs. The agency was relying on WhatsApp chats of Aryan, which they claim point towards procurement of bulk quantities of drugs.
NCB had argued that the recovery of six grams of charas from his friend Arbaaz points to conscious possession by Aryan.