Aryan Khan's bail hearing in the Mumbai cruise ship case was adjourned to Wednesday.
The NCB argued Aryan Khan's bail should be denied alleging 'witness tampering', referring to the affidavit filed by Prabhakar Sail alleging that a payoff was planned for NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede. Shah Rukh Khan's manager Pooja Dadlani was also allegedly named in the affidavit. Aryan has denied any connection to pancha witnesses Prabhakar Sail or KP Gosavi.
Here are the main arguments Aryan Khan's counsel made during his bail hearing:
Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Aryan Khan, reiterated that Aryan wasn’t found in possession of any drugs and was apprehended by the NCB outside the cruise ship. Rohatgi also mentioned that Aryan was invited by a man Prateek Gaba who knew Arbaaz Merchant as well.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s judgement in Tofan Singh vs State of Tamil Nadu wherein it held that NDPS officers are police officers and hence confessions given to them are not admissible in court.
The special NDPS court had held that Aryan Khan wouldn’t be entitled to bail because he was in ‘conscious possession’ of drugs that were allegedly found on Arbaaz Merchantt.
Rohatgi argued for Aryan, “My case is that there is no conscious possession at all. What somebody else had in their Shoe is not my concern. That cannot be my ‘conscious possession.’”
Referring to Aryan Khan’s WhatsApp chats, which the NCB alleged point to a ‘nexus’, Rohatgi argued that they aren’t related to the cruise case. He also argued that Aryan can’t be charged with NDPS section 27(A) since his client hasn’t financed any ‘drug trafficking’.
Aryan Khan, in his affidavit, said that he has no involvement in the allegations against any NCB officer, adding that he is not connected with panch witnesses KP Gosavi and Prabhakar Sail. Rohatgi, for Khan, further argued that the controversy is rebounding on Aryan but he isn’t siding with the panchas or any political entities.
“They (Aryan and Arbaaz) are some boys. The law provides that for small quantities the maximum punishment is one year. And there is also immunity from prosecution after they go to a rehabilitation centre,” advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued.
Rohatgi referred to a chart about the quantities recovered and said that Aryan can only be connected to Arbaaz and another accused Aachit Kumar according to the prosecution. Advocate Amit Desai, part of the defense team, submitted that the chats between Aryan and Aachit were about poker.
Aryan’s counsel cited the judgment in Ragini Dwivedi vs State of Karnataka and argued that the actor was granted bail by the SC. He drew similarities between the two cases and said that no drugs were found and the applicant was arrested on a conspiracy charge, in the Dwivedi case.
Advocate Rohatgi said in Court that Aryan Khan's case has invited media glare because his parents (Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan).
Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchantt, and Munmun Dhamecha was arrested by the NCB during a cruise ship raid. Their bail pleas have been rejected multiple times in the case. After a special NDPS court denied the accused bail, the counsel approached the High Court.
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