Breaking: Mumbai Special Court Will Hear Aryan Khan's Bail Application on Wednesday

 A Mumbai Special Court under the NDPS Act said on Monday that it will hear the bail applications filed by Aryan Khan, son of actor Shahrukh Khan, accused in connection with the seizure of drugs on a luxury cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on October 13. 

Special Judge VV Patil granted time to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to file its response till Wednesday.  

Senior Advocate Amit Desai and Advocate Satish Maneshinde appearing for Khan mentioned the matter before the judge on Monday and sought an early hearing. They further apprised the Court that the NCB had been served electronically and physically on Friday. 

On the other hand, SPP AM Chimalker appearing for the NCB sought time for one week to file its response after apprising the Court that the investigation is ongoing and that evidence is being collected. This was opposed to by the counsels appearing for Khan. 

Courtroom exchange  

Senior Advocate Amit Desai appearing for Aryan Khan argued that Aryan Khan had been in custody since last Saturday however his statement had been recorded only once on Sunday. 

"It is an admitted fact that this person is not found in possession. I am not arguing bail, I am only arguing for a date. Considering the peculiar facts of this case..he is probably the only person without recovery or any other material", senior counsel Desai contended further. He further informed the Court that the bail application of Aryan Khan had been rejected by a magistrate's court for lack of jurisdiction. He thus contended that the NCB should take a day's time instead of 7 days for filing their reply. 

On the other hand, SPP Chimalker argued that 7 days is a reasonable time for filing the relevant replies. Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Advait Sethna also appearing for NCB further sought time till Thursday and accordingly contended, "with utmost respect to my senior, there is no urgency. We have been served with a copy only yesterday. In order to do justice to both sides, we are requesting for time till Thursday." 

SSP Sethna further argued that it was not 'humanely possible' to file all  the replies within such a short period of time and also apprised the court that the other accused persons had been found with intermediate quantities.

Background

On October 8, the magistrate's court at Mumbai rejected the bail applications of Aryan Khan, son of actor Sharukh Khan, and two others in the cruise ship drug bust, observing that a Special Court under the NDPS Act would have exclusive jurisdiction to hear their pleas. Additional Metropolitan Magistrate RM Nilekar had observed that the allegations against the individual accused could not be separated or bifurcated at this stage since they were booked in a single case.

The Court had noted that while Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha were booked under sections 8(c), 20b, 27, 28, 29 and 35 of the NDPS Act, several others are booked for possession of intermediate quantities, commercial quantities and financing, the punishment for which if more than three years. The court had further opined that section 36A of the NDPS Act states that all offences under this act which are punishable with imprisonment for more than three years shall be triable only by the special court constituted for the area in which the offence has been committed.

However, on October 7, the Judge had rejected further NCB Custody for the accused and remanded them to judicial custody instead. 

On October 2, NCB's zonal director Sameer Wankhede led a team of officers for a raid at the International Terminal of Mumbai Port Trust from where the Cordelia Cruise liner was to depart for Goa.

Eight people were detained after the NCB allegedly seized intermediate and small quantities of cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy), charas and Rs 1,33,000 cash.

Khan, Merchant and Dhamecha were the first to be arrested. They were booked under sections 8(c) read with 20b (purchase), 27 (consumption), 28 (attempt to commit offence), 29 (abetment/ conspiracy) and 35 (presumption of culpable mental state) of the NDPS Act, after six and five grams of charas was allegedly seized from Merchant and Dhamecha respectively.

Nothing was recovered from Khan. The NCB claims to have retrieved WhatApp chats for drugs. So far, the NCB has arrested 20 people in the case and recovered commercial quantities of drug as well. The agency arrested several individuals after the cruise, that was allowed to set sail following the raid, returned from Goa, on Monday.

Those arrested include 10 guests, four event organisers, three alleged suppliers and one consumer. Nine people are booked under the stringent section 27A of the NDPS Act for financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders attracting a 20-year jail term.