No question of bail in NDPS cases, only aspect of custody needs to be decided by court: Magistrate in Aryan Khan drug case

  • Thyagarajan Narendran
  • 04:38 PM, 05 Oct 2021

Read Time: 06 minutes

The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Aryan Khan’s case has held that a bare perusal of cases such as Rhea Chakraborty Vs Union of India, it is clear that all offences under Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act are non-bailable. Therefore, the question of bail at the present stage does not arise.

The Mumbai court had granted custody of Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan, to Narcotics Control Bureau  (NCB) till October 7,

The Magistrate further held that the question to be considered in such cases is whether or not custodial interrogation of accused is essential.

The order further holds that given the circumstances under which Aryan Khan and other accused were apprehended it is important that the information collected from them is to be verified.

According to the order, given that the investigation is at the initial stage it is important that the accused be present with Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for a detailed investigation. Having the accused in custody will be useful for both the prosecution as well as the accused to prove their innocence.

According to the order Additional Solicitor General (ASG), Anil Singh who appeared for the State argued that 13 gms of cocaine, 5 gms of Mephedrone, 21 gms of Charas , 22 Pills of MDMA along with Rs.1,33,00/- were seized from the accused at International Cruise Terminal, Green Gate Mumbai. He argued that on the basis of the statement of the accused, they were arrested for sale, purchase and attempt to commit a punishable offence under sections 8(C), 20 (b), 27, 28, 29, r/w 35 of NDPS act. He further argued that investigation conducted so far clearly reveals incriminating evidence in the form of WhatsApp chats. There is a clear proof that these accused were in regular contact with the suppliers, he argued.The ASG further argued that the there are pictures etc pointing towards an International drug trafficking ring and hence the custody of the accused is required.

The contentions of the ASG were opposed by the counsels for the accused on the ground that the accusations of the NCB are false and even if they were to be investigated, the accused is required to be taken in judicial custody and enlarged on bail. It was argued that custodial interrogation was not necessary given the circumstances.

The order also notes that there have been no complaints of ill-treatment by the accused at the hands of NCB.

Bollywood superstar Sharukh Khan’s son, Aryan Khan, and seven other accused were nabbed at various times on Sunday after the NCB raided their alleged drug party aboard the Cordelia Cruises ship on Saturday evening, these arrests sent shock waves among the general masses and the people in the entertainment industry alike.

Pursuant to this order of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Aryan Khan has been sent to the custody of NCB till October 7.

Case Title: NCB Vs. Aryan Khan