Aryan Khan in NCB custody till Oct 7: What happened inside Mumbai court
A Mumbai court on Monday sent actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan and two of his friends to the custody of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) till October 7. The 23-year-old was arrested by the NCB on Sunday. He was detained by the agency after raid at a rave party on a cruise ship on Saturday night.
The magistrate's court accepted NCB's plea that more investigation is needed after the seizure of drugs.
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Aryan Khan was picked up along with seven others during the NCB raid. These include his fiends Arbaz Seth Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha. Khan's lawyer, however, said nothing was found in his client's possession and he was arrested only based on WhatsApp chats.
The NCB had sought a longer custody of Khan, Merchant and Dhamecha (till October 13) to take forward the investigation, which it said has bigger ramifications. The lawyers of the trio, however, opposed NCB's plea saying the agency has not been able to prove anything and arrested their clients because they are "high profile people".
Here is what happened in the Esplanade court during the hearing:
• Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the NCB, told the court that one person was detained on Monday morning in connection with the case.
• Seeking the trio's custody for nine days, he further said, "NCB seized Aryan Khan’s phone and there are several suspected chats which shows the connection with the dealers. It is, therefore, necessary to confront all accused in the custodial remand."
• He further argued that WhatsApp chats show the discussions about cash transactions and that there are mention of international transactions also. Singh claimed code names were used by the accused in the chats to communicate with peddlers.
• As per NCB, the three have been booked under Section 8C, 20B, 27 (Punishment for consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance) and 35 (Presumption of culpable mental state) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act). ASG Anil Singh argued that offences under NDPS Act are non-bailable and cited judgement in Rhea Chakraborty case.
• Aryan Khan's lawyer Satish Maneshinde opposed the extended custody plea of NCB and said the agency can't rely on WhatsApp chats. He said that no material on record has been found against his client. Maneshinde also said that bail for non-bailable offence is provided by Supreme Court and read an old judgement.
• Khan also said through his lawyer that he only knows Merchant from whom six grams of Charas was found. "I don't know anybody else apart from him who is name as an accused in the case."
• Aryan Khan further claimed that he was invited to the cruise as a guest and that he doesn't have any contact with the organisers, dealers or any other people on the cruise ship. His lawyer also said that the agency downloaded Khan's WhatsApp chats and claimed they indicated link with "so-called" international drug trafficking network when he was abroad.
• Khan clarified that he never indulged in supply or consumption of drugs during his foreign trips and said that during raid at cruise ship, the contraband seized by the NCB did not belong to him or his friends.
• "I am not seeking bail as a matter of right. I was detained by NCB not on the cruise ship. I was special invitee. I landed there with another friend of mine," Khan's lawyer said on his behalf.
• Merchant's lawyer Tareq Sayed also opposed furthr custody saying there is no clarity on where the recovery is made, from whom and how much. "There are only chats that are recovered."
• Sayed also said that the NCB arrested Khan and his client because they are high profile people.