The Bombay High Court today granted bail to Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case. The star son was represented by Mukul Rohatgi, the former Attorney General of India (AGI). He was the lead counsel along with Satish Maneshinde and senior counsel Amit Desai was also present in court for the hearing before Justice Nitin Sambre. Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha were also granted bail. Aryan was arrested on October 3 and he has got bail on the 25th day after arrest. The judge has kept the detailed bail order for tomorrow, so Aryan Khan will not walk out of jail today.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had opposed Aryan Khan’s bail plea, alleging that the 23-year-old was not just a consumer of drugs, but also involved in illicit drug trafficking and was in conscious possession of contraband. ASG Anil Singh stated in court, “My contention is he was found in possession. He was connected with drug peddlers. It was a commercial quantity. Hence we invoked 28 and 29. It was only 4 hours and they were aware of the grounds so it cannot be an illegal arrest. Conspiracy is difficult to prove. Only the conspirator knows how they conspired. I will leave to the conscience of the court.”
While Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued on Aryan Khan’s behalf and stated, “I knew only Arbaaz, I did not know anyone else. It is true it is difficult to prove that there is common meeting of mind. But facts cannot be ignored. There has to be meeting of minds. There may be conscious possession of 6 gms, but how do you prove the other recovered substance?”
NCB also claimed that Aryan Khan and a woman named Pooja Dadlani, Shah Rukh Khan’s manager, were tampering with the evidence and witnesses in the case in an attempt to derail the investigation. “The role of this applicant (Aryan Khan) in the commission of grave and serious offences under the NDPS Act including illicit drug trafficking is apparent considering the nexus and connection of this applicant with the other accused in the case,” the NCB had stated in its affidavit. While Aryan Khan’s bail plea stated that he had bene ‘falsely implicated’ in the matter, which the NCB denied. The investigating agency alleged that the material available so far in the on going investigation prima facie discloses that the applicant is guilty of the offences to attract the rigors of Section 37 of the NDPS Act (which makes getting bail tough).
Previously, Aryan’s lawyers had argued in court that he was not found to be in possession of any contraband and was attending the party as a VVIP invitee. Recently, Aryan Khan’s team of advocates submitted a note to the HC, stating that they had nothing to do with the allegations and counter allegations that were being circulated between the NCB’s zonal director Sameer Wankhede and certain political personalities. They also clarified that Aryan Khan had no connection with Prabhakar Sail, an independent witness in the case, who has made allegations of extortion attempt against NCB’s Zonal director Sameer Wankhede and others.
Aryan Khan was arrested on October 3 along with seven others after NCB raided a drugs bust on a luxury cruise. The star son is currently lodged at the Arthur Road jail and his custody has been extended till October 30.Z
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