Nawab Malik reacts to Aryan Khan's bail order citing a prima-facie absence of conspiracy

After the Bombay High Court released a detailed bail order of actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan in the Mumbai cruise drug bust case, Maharashtra Minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik alleged that it was a fake case by Mumbai NCB Zonal director Sameer Wankhede.

"It was a clear cut case of kidnapping and ransom. Due to the selfie leak, their plan totally failed. He (Aryan Khan) was falsely framed, which is clear in the High Court order. We know Wankhede will move to Supreme Court. In Rhea Chakraborty case too, they went to Supreme Court," the Nationalist Congress Party leader said.

Nawab Malik further said, "If NDPS court gives bail to a person then they appeal in the high court. A person is making fake cases against citizens and spending money in court for his false dignity. I think Centre has to take a call."

'No positive evidence to show Aryan and two others conspired to commit drug-related offences'

The Bombay High Court, in a detailed order granting bail to Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha, said that prima facie has not found any positive evidence against the accused prooving that they had conspired to commit an offence. 

The court noted that WhatsApp chats extracted from Aryan Khan's phone show nothing objectionable, and nothing suggested that he and other accused in the case have hatched a conspiracy of committing the offence. 

"There is hardly any positive evidence on record to convince this court that all the accused persons with common intention agreed to commit unlawful acts," the court said while rejecting NCB's argument that the case of all accused ought to be considered together. 

"So as to infer the case of conspiracy against the applicants also, there is the absence of material on record of them having such meeting of minds with the other accused, who were named in the offence in question," the order said.

Aryan Khan, Arbaaz and Munmun were granted bail on October 28 by a single bench of Justice NW Sambre. They were arrested on October 3 following Narcotic Control Bureau's raid on Cordelia cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on October 2.