Bail or jail? Bombay HC to hear Aryan's plea today | Economic Times

Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, will seek bail in the Bombay High Court today after a special court in Mumbai on Wednesday rejected his bail plea in drugs case. The case is likely to be mentioned on Thursday at 10.30am before Justice N W Sambre seeking urgent hearing.The court observed that Aryan was indulging in "illicit drug activities on a regular basis" while denying him bail. Aryan's WhatsApp chats also showed, prima facie, that he was in touch with drug peddlers, the court noted.The special NDPS Act court in its 21-page order noted that WhatsApp chats of Aryan Khan prima facie revealed that he was "dealing in illicit drug activities on a regular basis" and therefore it cannot be said that he was not likely to commit a similar offence if released on bail.Aryan was arrested with a few others on October 3 after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raided a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast and claimed to have seized drugs including charas (hashish), has now moved the Bombay High Court.What court said on Wednesday while rejecting bailV V Patil, special judge for the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act cases, rejected the bail pleas of Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and fashion model Munmun Dhamecha on Wednesday. An hour later, Aryan and Dhamecha's lawyers moved the Bombay High Court seeking bail.The court in its order said that Aryan knew that his friend and co-accused Merchant was in possession of drugs, and hence there was “conscious possession” even though the NCB had not found any drugs on Aryan himself.“Considering the prima facie involvement of the applicants/accused No 1 to 3 (Aryan Khan, Merchant and Dhamecha) in commission of grave and serious offence, this is not a fit case for granting bail,” the judge said in the order while denying bail to accused. The voluntary statements and case papers of Aryan and Arbaaz revealed that they possessed drugs for consumption and enjoyment, the court noted further.In Aryan's WhatsApp chats, there is reference to "bulk quantity and hard drugs" and "there is prima facie material showing that accused No 1 was in contact with persons dealing in prohibited narcotic substances," the order said.Earlier, a magistrate's court had rejected the accused's bail pleas, saying only a special court can hear these matters.Aryan, Merchant and Dhamecha, among others, were detained on October 2 by the NCB during a rain on a cruise ship off Mumbai coast on its way to Goa. They were placed under arrest on October 3 in the matter and sent on custody.So far, Aryan's bail plea has been rejected over three times. The 23-year-old is currently lodged in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail in judicial custody. While Dhamecha is lodged at the Byculla women's prison in the city. So far, 20 persons have been arrested in the case.Aryan, who has spent over 17 days in custody so far, spoke to his parents SRK and Gauri Khan on a video call from jail over the weekend. All the undertrials in the Arthur Road jail are allowed to speak to their family via video call once or twice a week since meeting in person isn't allowed amid Covid-19 crisis in the country.