Aryan Khan Drug Case: Bail hearing of 3 accused adjourned till tomorrow

Independent witness Shekhar Kamble on Wednesday claimed that he was allegedly asked to sign 10-12 blank sheets of paper by the agency in the arrest of a Nigerian national, who was busted in connection with the Mumbai cruise drugs bust. 

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NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede's sister and advocate Yasmeen Wankhede on Wednesday lodged complaints against Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik. Earlier, she had accused Malik of illegally taking her photographs from her social media and distributing them on print and electronic media.

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Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Deputy DG Gyaneshwar Singh on Wednesday said that NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede will continue to be the investigator in the Mumbai cruise drugs bust case. He also informed that no evidence has been found against him.

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The Bombay High Court has adjourned the bail hearing of Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha in the drugs bust case. The case will be heard at 2.30 pm tomorrow.

Advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, arguing for Munmun Dhamecha, tells Bombay High Court when Bombay High Court conducted searches nothing was recovered. He said that the case against his client is a copy-paste from the other case. "Munmun made a scapegoat," Khan Deshmukh said.

He said that drugs from others in the room- Soumya and Baldev- were found.

Advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, arguing for Munmun Dhamecha, tells Bombay HC that her client, a fashion model, was invited on the criuse.

Mukul Rohtagi, representing Aryan Khan, requests the Bombay High Court to go through the arrest memo again. He points out that at the time of Aryan Khan's arrest there were no charges of conspiracy

Senior counsel Amit Desai, arguing for bail of Arbaaz Merchant in Mumbai drugs-on-cruise, told Bombay High Court, that the old WhatsApp chats recovered by the NCB has no connection with the Mumbai cruise drugs bust incident.

Accused Arbaaz's lawyer Amit Desai tells Bombay HC, "As far as WhatsApp chat is concerned, it is very clear that there is not a single chat which supports the conspiracy theory in this case. We're struggling with the problem of media trial."

Amit Desai, arguing for bail of Arbaz Merchant in drugs-on-cruise, tells Bombay HC, "three unconnected people who come for the same purpose is not a conspiracy."

Desai continues, "The statement in the chats that they were going on a cruise to have a blast was actually about consumption only, at maximum. As (Mukul) Rohatgi pointed out that this is a case of aborting. There was a plan which didn't happen."

"At the highest, there is a trap... If NCB officers went there to find people consuming drugs, they can do blood testing of all those. There is no blood test where consumption is proved," Amit Desai said.

Two youths in the Mumbai drugs bust case were granted bail by a special NDPS court on Tuesday. Citing this, he said that Arbaaz, Aryan Khan and Munmun deserve bail too.

Senior counsel Amit Desai, arguing for bail of Arbaaz Merchant in Mumbai drugs-on-cruise, tells Bombay High Court, "There was no mention of the allegation of "use" (of drugs) in the arrest memo. It talks about personal consumption only so the arrest memo itself demolishes the conspiracy thing."

Arbaaz Merchant's lawyer Amit Desai said that his client consumed charas. "This is a case of nothing more than personal consumption. They first said that a group of passengers. Group means conspiracy...Arbaaz accepted that he has charas," he said.

"Arrest memo of these 3 persons clearly indicates that they were not arrested for conspiracy but for possession/consumption. The conspiracy was added later. Special court was misled by the prosecution that they were arrested for conspiracy," Desai submits

Arbaaz Merchant's lawyer Amit Desai said that the arrest curtail freedom. "Why arrest, was it even required?," he said referring to section 51 of the NDPS Act.

Senior counsel Amit Desai told Bombay HC that based on the assessment of articles recovered on Oct 3, only consumption was alleged. "If there was no conspiracy at that moment, how come conspiracy came later," he asks

Arbaz Merchant's lawyer Amit Desai, arguing for his bail, says the Arnesh Kumar judgement (by Supreme Court) is a diktat in this kind of cases of minor offences with punishment less than 7 years; says there was "no conspiracy thing" at the time of arrests.

"The arrest was illegal. I point out a Supreme Court judgement which says the arrest is an extremely strong measure and should be exercised only to prevent the accused from committing another crime or preventing him from running away from law," Desai argues.

Speaking about October 3 afternoon, when all three people were arrested for identical offences, Amit Desai representing Arbaaz Merchant said that Arbaaz, Aryan Khan and Munmun were charged with sections 20 (B) and 27 "which means all three people had come there only for consumption".

"If there was no conspiracy at that moment, then the punishment was 1 year. We keep joint possession points aside. The investigating officer should have issued a notice under 41 (A)," he added.,

Senior counsel Amit Desai has begun arguing for Arbaaz Merchant. Talking about the arrest memo, he says initial charges are for small quantities.

Listed as matter 37, Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan's bail plea hearing has begun in Bombay High Court. 

Two more cases to go before Aryan Khan bail hearing resumes; case number 35 being heard at present; Aryan Khan bail hearing listed at serial number 37.

Aryan Khan's advocate Mukul Rohatgi has reached the courtroom for a bail hearing. ASG Anil Singh for NCB is also present. NCB Investigation Officer of Mumbai drugs bust case VV Singh is also present.

The Bombay High Court will resume hearing Aryan Khan's bail petition shortly. Meanwhile, SRK's son's lawyer Satish Maneshinde has reached the court.

Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan's case is listed at serial number 37. As of now, Justice Sambre is hearing matter number 25. 

The judge is hearing kept back matters and Aryan Khan's case is listed at serial number 37. As of now, Justice Sambre is hearing matter number 22. 

Arbaaz Merchant's lawyer Amit Desai has also reached the Bombay High Court ahead of the bail plea hearing. 

Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede has left for Bombay High Court ahead of Aryan Khan's bail plea hearing. 

The court has presided and lawyers are being let in by serial numbers. Meanwhile, Justice Sambre is hearing kept back matters.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for Aryan Khan has entered court premises. 

The Bombay High Court will resume the bail plea hearing of Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan's bail plea today. Khan was arrested in connection with the Mumbai cruise drug bust case. Tune in to follow all updates here: 

The Republic Media Network in an exclusive conversation spoke to NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede's father amid the allegations levelled against his son by NCP leader and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik. Dnyandev Wankhede displayed his son's caste certificate as a proof to counter the claims. The caste certificate mentions the NCB officer's name as 'Sameer Dnyandev Wankhede'. In addition, he has also vowed to approach the court. 

A city resident has filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court, seeking directions to Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik to refrain from making any comments against the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), in light of the drugs case in which actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan is an accused. The public interest litigation (PIL) was filed on Tuesday by one Kausar Ali, who claims to be a priest and a person working for the rehabilitation of drug addicts.

Ali has urged the HC to direct Malik not to make any comments against the NCB or any other investigating agency associated with the Aryan Khan case and officers of such agencies, saying it will demoralise the probe agencies and encourage drug abuse among citizens. 

Mumbai Police recorded the statement of independent witness Prabhakar Sail for over eight hours in connection with in connection with his allegation of extortion attempt by NCB officials in the drugs seizure case involving Aryan Khan, an official said on Wednesday. Sail appeared before the city police on Tuesday evening and the process of recording his statement was completed at around 3 am on Wednesday, he said. After recording his statement, Sail left the office of Assistant Commissioner of Police, Azad Maidan, early on Wednesday, the official said. He has been provided protection by the city police in the wake of revelations he made in his application, the official said.

Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday hit out at the MVA Government for targetting Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede alleging that Maharashtra Ministers were under the influence of wanted gangster Dawood Ibrahim. Speaking to ANI, BJP National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya stated that Wankhede's targetted harassment had shown that no honest officer of the Central government could work in Maharashtra. 

"It (allegations by NCP's Nawab Malik against NCB officer Sameer Wankhede) shows that no honest officer of Central government can work in Maharashtra. Dawood (Ibrahim) isn't in our country but his influence is on ministers of Maharashtra government," Vijayavargiya told ANI.

BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya also slammed Nawab Malik's allegations against the NCB officer saying that he was targeting the central agency after his son-in-law was arrested in a drugs case under the NDPS Act. Malviya stated that Malik was 'using his ministerial privileges to settle scores.'

Maharashtra Minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik has attacked NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede yet again. Malik has now attacked the agency over its claims that it probes on the basis of electronic evidence. He has also demanded the vigilance committee to get call detail records of Sameer Wankhede, Prabhakar Sail, Kiran Gosavi and Wankehde's driver Mane. 

On Tuesday, Aryan Khan's counsel, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi in Bombay High Court had argued that there was no recovery from Aryan. He also stated that no medical test was conducted to prove that he consumed drugs. Advocate Rohatgi therefore states that 'there's no case'. 

"I appear for A1. He is 23 years of age. Did his undergraduate in Calafornia and returned in March 2020. There was a cruise which was to go for 2 days from Mumbai on October 2. Cruise invited customers, but Aryan was not a customer. He was invited by one Gaba, who is an event manager. Gaba also invited Arbaaz Merchant, and both happened to meet. 

He added, "It appears that NCB has prior information that people will be carrying drugs for consumption on cruises. NCB was present in some strength in the afternoon to apprehend customers. My client and Arbaaz were apprehended before they could board. Their search was carried out. While 6 grams of charas was recovered from Arbaaz, there was no recovery from Aryan. No medical test to prove that he consumed drugs, so there's no case. "

Before the Bombay High Court hearing on Tuesday, Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan had said that he has no grievance against the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and its officials. The statement of Aryan Khan comes amid Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik's campaign against Sameer Wankhede which has entailed the NCP leader making daily and repeated allegations against Wankhede. 

On October 2, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) busted a high-profile party on Cordelia cruise ship en route from Mumbai to Goa. As per sources, NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, along with his team, boarded the cruise ship in the guise of passengers after receiving a tip-off about the purported drug party from the CISF and raided it mid-sea. The NCB sleuths seized small amounts of Cocaine, Mephedrone, Charas, Hydroponic Weed, MDMA, and cash Rs. 1,33,000, and arrested eight people - Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchantt, Munmun Dhamecha, Nupur Sarika, Ismeet Singh, Mohak Jaswal, Vikrant Chhoker, Gomit Chopra. After hours of interrogation Aryan Khan along with others were put under official arrest on October 3.

The Bombay High Court will resume Aryan Khan's bail plea hearing on Wednesday afternoon in the second half. 

The Bombay HC will resume hearing of Aryan Khan's bail plea on Wednesday afternoon. According to sources, Khan's bail has been listed as issue 37 in the court schedule on Wednesday. 

Two accused in the Mumbai Drugs bust case - Manish Rajgaria and Avin Sahu, have been granted bail by a special NDPS court in Mumbai on Tuesday. They were both guests on the cruise. Rajgaria was arrested with 2.4 grams of ganja while no drugs were recovered from Sahu. Manish's father had earlier refuted any links of his son with Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan. He said that the drug found in his cigarette was for self-consumption and denied his son's involvement in drug peddling. Avin's father also denied his son's link with Aryan Khan. Avin had gone to Mumbai to attend his friend's party on a cruise ship. 

Senior Advocate and former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi who represented Aryan Khan on Tuesday had argued that the latter was charged with a conspiracy. In addition, he also stated that Aryan Khan knows no one but Arbaz Merchant. 

"6 gms is not enough to keep me in jail. Many other people were arrested with commercial and large quantities. For larger amounts, such as trafficking - 27 (A) is charged. But NCB is saying that they won’t charge Aryan with 27 (A), but with conspiracy. But I do not know anyone else except my friend, so how is it a conspiracy?" argued Advocate Rohatgi. 

He added, "If there is a conspiracy, then section 37 should be there. But, that’s not there. In my case, sections of 37 do not apply. Also, there is no past conviction in this case."