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Drugs-on-cruise case: Is Aryan Khan's bail plea dismissal normal? Top defence lawyer answers
NCB argued in the court that Aryan Khan was in “conscious possession” of illegal drugs as the agency found 6 grams of charas from his friend, Arbaaz Merchant, who allegedly admitted to the investigators that they intended to use it for “consumption and enjoyment.”
Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was denied bail for the second time earlier this week, prompting his lawyers to move Bombay high court. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had arrested Aryan Khan and several others after raiding a rave party on a cruise ship off Mumbai on October 2. While the agency admitted that Aryan Khan wasn’t found in possession of drugs, it argued against the bail petition saying the ongoing investigation related to the arrest could lead them to an international racket.
Top defence lawyer Rebecca John said that bail should have been granted at the very first instance because Aryan Khan was not found in possession of any drugs, but the NCB apparently wants to make it into an extraordinary case. Appearing on the latest episode of On the Record, John told Hindustan Times' Sunetra Choudhury that a person accompanying Aryan Khan on the cruise was found in possession of a small amount of drug, which was not sufficient ground to deny bail to the actor’s son.
“And there doesn't seem to be any apparent nexus of a larger kind, from the facts and circumstances which are available in the public domain, bail should have been granted to him as a matter of right,” the lawyer said.
“Its denial, therefore, is a matter of concern because India's criminal jurisprudence says that bail is a rule, jail is the exception,” she added.
NCB argued in the court that Aryan Khan was in “conscious possession” of illegal drugs as the agency found 6 grams of charas from his friend, Arbaaz Merchant, who allegedly admitted to the investigators that they intended to use it for “consumption and enjoyment.”
“Although no possession is found from the accused number 1, 6gm of charas was found from accused number 2 (Merchant) of which Aryan had the knowledge and thus it can be said that it was in conscious possession of both the accused,” the special NDPS court said in the order denying bail to all the accused.
Aryan Khan Case: Why is he in jail without drug possession?
Rebecca John said the term "conscious possession" has not been defined under the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances Act, and courts, on many occasions, turn down the prosecution’s plea saying they aren’t able to determine conscious possession from the facts and circumstances.
From effecting arrest to making theories to coming up with allegations that are largely unsubstantiated, John also criticised the way the agency has conducted itself so far. She said that the prosecuting agencies, of late, have a story, then immediately effect an arrest and go around looking for evidence to match the story.
Pointing to the fact that some of the persons who acted as attesting witnesses were not independent witnesses, she said that “every prosecuting agency must conduct itself in a manner that is credible, which is trustworthy, and with the highest degree of integrity.”
“The least expectation we as citizens have from the system is that the prosecuting agency is conducting itself manner which is credible and trustworthy,” John added.
