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Updated October 14th, 2021 at 17:11 IST

SRK's son Aryan Khan to remain in jail till October 20; court reserves order on bail plea

Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant & Munmun Damecha, arrested by NCB in the Mumbai cruise drugs case, will remain in jail till at least October 20

Reported by: Gloria Methri
Aryan Khan
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In a major development in the case involving Aryan Khan and others arrested in the Mumbai cruise drugs case, a sessions court on Thursday reserved its order on their bail petition. After hearing the arguments concerning the bail petition of Aryan Khan, Munmun Dhamecha, and Arbaaz Merchant, the court reserved its verdict for Wednesday, October 20. 

While Aryan and Arbaaz are presently lodged in the Arthur Road Jail, Munmun is lodged in the Byculla Jail.  

During the proceeding, Aryan Khan's lawyer Amit Desai reiterated that any person found with a small quantity of drugs has the right to file for bail as long as he cooperates in the investigation. 

Desai said, "As a citizen of this country, there is no debate or doubt that the entire world is fighting against drugs. We are concerned about the generation and youth, I appreciate NCB in Mumbai or anywhere in the country for what they do as their job."

To make his case stronger for seeking bail of Aryan Khan, Desai added, "The chain is from dealer to peddler and peddler to consumers. But there is a need to learn the legislature chain. We are dealing with the bail application and without affecting the investigation, bail can be granted"

'The accused was in possession of contraband': ASG

Opposing claims that Aryan Khan was not in possession of drugs, ASG Anil Singh stated the recovered drugs were meant for both the accused. Citing relevant parts from the panchnama, the ASG said records indicate that Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant consumed drugs for the cruise journey. 

Khan has said the quantity of the hard drug cannot be for personal consumption and the same was seen in the WhatsApp chats of the accused persons. He added that peddlers and foreign nationals were in touch with Aachit Kumar, who was linked to Aryan Khan. The ASG also informed that the agency is in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to get the details of the foreign nationals. 

Reacting to the NCB's move to approach the Ministry of External Affairs to investigate the connections of foreign nationals involved in the case, advocate Amit Desai said Aryan Khan has nothing to do with international drug trafficking or illicit trafficking. 

"The NCB is saying they have written to the head of dept or MEA, which means they are continuing with their investigation. Whatsapp chat is something very private but now it's been going around the world. The factual conversation is about the rave party, and Aryan is not involved with anybody. There are no messages or conversations at the party. There was no recovery either. Aryan was overseas for several months," argued Desai.

The advocate reiterated that Aryan Khan's liberty should not be taken as he assures cooperation with the investigation. 

Aryan Khan & 19 others arrested in Cordelia drug bust case

The case pertains to the busting of a high-profile drug party on a luxury ship en route to Goa from Mumbai. The party allegedly involved celebrities including Aryan Khan, who was unearthed by NCB following an eight-hour-long operation. Narcotic substances like Hashish, MDMA, Cocaine were recovered and eight people were detained who were later put on the arrest. On basis of interrogation, several arrests were made. The agency has now arrested 20 people in the drug bust case. Aryan Khan, Arbaz Merchant, and others are currently under judicial custody.

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Published October 14th, 2021 at 17:11 IST

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