Aryan Khan case: Bombay High Court to hear bail plea of SRK's son on October 26

In a big development, the Bombay High Court agreed to hear the bail petition of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan on Tuesday, October 26. A day earlier, he along with co-accused Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha were denied bail by Special NDPS judge VV Patil. Mentioning the matter before Justice NW Sambre, Aryan Khan's counsel Satish Maneshinde pointed out that no drugs were recovered from his client and that there was no evidence against him.

While he requested the matter to be heard on Friday or Monday, October 25, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh stated that he hadn't been served a copy of the petition. Thereafter, the HC adjourned the matter. Aryan Khan was also denied bail by a metropolitan magistrate’s court in Mumbai on October 8 on the grounds of maintainability. Earlier in the day, Shah Rukh Khan met his son at the Arthur Road Jail. 

Aryan Khan in judicial custody

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan was among 8 persons who were arrested on October 3 after a team led by NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede raided the Cordelia cruise ship in Mumbai. During the operation that was carried out on the basis of specific information, the NCB officers seized 13 grams of Cocaine, 5 grams of Mephedrone, 21 grams of Charas, 22 pills of Ecstasy and Rs.1,33,000. On October 7, Aryan Khan and his co-accused were sent to judicial custody for 14 days. 

While acknowledging that nothing was found in the possession of Aryan Khan, the special NDPS court referred to his and Merchant's admission in their "voluntary statements" that they were carrying the drugs for consumption and enjoyment. Citing a verdict of the Supreme Court, it held that both Khan and Merchant were in "conscious possession" of drugs. Additionally, it accepted the argument of the Additional Solicitor General that the role of the accused cannot be segregated as they are a part of a large drug network.

Most importantly, the court observed, "During course of argument, WhatsApp chats were shown to the Court. Perusal of WhatsApp chats reveal that there are chats of applicant/accused no.1 (Aryan Khan) about drugs with unknown persons. There is also reference of bulk quantity and hard drug in the chats. There is prima facie material showing that the applicant/accused no.1 was in contact with persons dealing in prohibited narcotic substances as alleged by the prosecution."

Moreover, Special NDPS judge VV Patil referred to the Rhea Chakraborty case to emphasize that all offences under the NDPS Act are non-bailable. Revealing that Aryan Khan hadn't disclosed the names of the drug dealers based abroad during his interrogation, the court expressed apprehension that the former might tamper with the evidence if he is released on bail. Pointing out that the WhatsApp chats prima facie reveal that Khan is dealing with illicit drug activities on a regular basis, the court concluded that this is not a fit case for granting bail.