The bail application of Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan and producer Gauri Khan, will be heard on Wednesday, a sessions court in Mumbai said on Monday. Khan, who was arrested in the case related to the seizure of drugs on board a cruise ship, will remain lodged in Arthur Road jail until then.
While Khan’s lawyer, Satish Maneshinde, said in court that his bail plea was filed on Friday (October 8), digitally and physically, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) counsel argued the agency needs at least one week’s time to file replies as there are multiple bail pleas pending in the case. He further told the court that they can, at the earliest, file a reply just before Dussehra (Friday, October 15).
Senior advocate Amit Desai, also appearing for Khan, said in reply, “The man is already inside the prison for a week… Bail hearing does not have to depend on investigation. I am not arguing bail, I am only arguing for a date.”
Contending that Khan was not found with any substances and was one of the first persons to be arrested, Desai said, “Just because of their administrative reason, the liberty of someone should not be curtailed.”
Noting this, Special Prosecutor Sethna from NCB’s side said, “As per Desai’s submissions, his matter deserves priority. It will not be humanly possible for us to file replies to all applications. Let the matters start from the first produced.”
Along with Khan, the bail applications of four other accused – Arbaaz Merchant, Mohak Jaswal, Nupur Satija, and Munmun Dhamecha – will also be heard on Wednesday.
Earlier, on Thursday, a Mumbai court had sent Khan and seven others, namely Arbaz Seth Merchant, Munmun Dhamecha, Vikrant Chhoker, Ismeet Singh, Nupur Sarika, Gomit Chopra, and Mohak Jaswal, to judicial custody for 14 days.
On Friday, Khan’s interim bail plea was rejected by the same court.
Meanwhile, the NCB has arrested two more persons in the cruise ship drug case. On Friday, the agency arrested Shivraj Ramdas from Santacruz and on Saturday, a Nigerian national named Okaro Ouzama was detained.
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So far, the NCB has arrested 20 people in connection with the case.
Also, on Saturday, Khan’s driver was questioned by the agency in connection with the case.
Although Khan is said to have not had any drugs in his possession when he was detained, a panchnama, accessed by India Today, revealed that he admitted to consuming charas, while his friend Merchant admitted to carrying it in his shoes.