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NCB opposes Aryan Khan’s bail petition, hearing to continue today
Requesting for bail for Aryan Khan, senior counsel Amit Desai told the court: “They are not drug peddlers or drug traffickers, but young kids. They have learnt their lessons, let us not penalise them.”
Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Wednesday opposed the bail application filed by Aryan Khan, model Munmun Dhamecha and actor Arbaaz Merchant, arrested in connection with the seizure of drugs on board a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast, saying the agency has sought the ministry of external affairs’ help to arrest a foreign national, a suspected peddler.
NCB, in its affidavit, told the court that Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, chatted with peddlers about bulk drugs and would procure them through actor Arbaaz Merchant. “During initial investigation, some international linkages pertinent to this applicant (Aryan Khan) have been unearthed which prima facie indicate towards illicit drug procurement. The investigation requires sufficient time so as to approach the foreign agency concerned,” the affidavit said.
Additional solicitor general Anil Singh, who appeared for NCB, told the court that bail applications are heard day in and out, but it is not like they have to be decided on the same day. “NCB is a credible agency dealing with drug trafficking. Consumption of drugs by youngsters is affecting the whole nation, not only economically but also otherwise. The agency is concerned about the gangs involved and efforts are made to trace them,” Singh said.
“There are chats that mention about commercial quantities or bulk quantities. There are chats with foreign nationals in reference to hard drugs. Somebody won’t order bulk quantities for consumption. There is something more. We have spoken to the ministry of external affairs and are trying to locate the foreign national,” the ASG added.
Requesting for bail for Aryan Khan, senior counsel Amit Desai told the court: “They are not drug peddlers or drug traffickers, but young kids. They have learnt their lessons, let us not penalise them.”
“Nothing was found on Aryan Khan, whatever was found was from Arbaaz Merchant, that to 6 grams of Charas, the agency has been relying on his statement and claiming that both of them used to consume it. This has a one-year punishment, the involvement in consumption, no substance for sale, and there is no money, so no purchase.”
Desai told the court that Aryan Khan had no money, so there was no question of purchase.
Senior counsel Taraq Sayyad, representing Arbaaz Merchant, Aryan Khan’s friend, told the court: “It’s a clear case of consumption. The court should immediately grant bail; there is even no need for prosecution. Both were together and they have already accepted the fact; they don’t know anybody else. They have already spent time in jail so should be granted bail.”
Counsel Ali Kashif Khan, who argued for Munmun Dhamecha, said: “I am a fashion model who had gone to do a ramp walk on the cruise. They recovered drugs from my room but there were two more people in the same room. I had just reached the cruise when the raid happened.”
After hearing the arguments, additional sessions judge VV Patil adjourned the matter to Thursday.
Earlier, a metropolitan magistrate rejected the bail applications of the three accused, saying they were not maintainable before it.
