The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to actor Rhea Chakraborty in the drugs case linked to the investigations of the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Chakraborty was arrested on September 8 by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for her alleged involvement in the procurement of drugs. However, her brother Showik Chakraborty’s bail plea has been rejected.
Chakraborty’s bail was granted under a few conditions and she has been asked to furnish a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh and told to turn in her passport. In case she has to go out of Greater Mumbai limits, she will have to present the itinerary in advance. She is not permitted to visit any of the witnesses in the case and report every day for 10 days to the Mumbai Police. Additionally, she will have to report on the first Monday of every month for six months.
Asking for a stay on the bail order for at least a week, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh said: “This matter involves a number of questions of law and therefore we want to test this order (before the Supreme Court).”
Refusing to stay the order, Justice Sarang V Kotwal said: “I have held that all offences under the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act are non-bailable. (Rhea) is not part of the chain of drug dealers. She has not forwarded the drugs allegedly procured by her to somebody else to earn monetary or other benefits….Since she has no criminal antecedents, there are reasonable grounds for believing that she is not likely to commit any offence while on bail.”
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Meanwhile, Mumbai Police warned the media against chasing the actor or being a hindrance to her. Sangram Singh Nishandar, Mumbai Police Deputy Commissioner, said: “You cannot chase the vehicle of any celebrity, advocate, or any person you wish to interview. You cannot endanger your life, the life of that person, or normal people walking on the roads. It’s an offense. We will take stern action, not only against the driver but against the person instigating, instructing the person to do such a chase.”
This comes after media persons were criticised last month for hounding the actor before and after she was questioned by the NCB in connection with the case.