PIL in HC urges Nawab Malik to refrain from commenting against NCB in Aryan Khan case

Public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court by a city resident seeking directions to Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik to refrain from making any comments against the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), in connection to the cruise drugs seizure case in which actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan is accused. These developments come as, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and state minister Nawab Malik has raised questions over the birth certificate of the NCB’s zonal director. 

Kausar Ali, who claims to be a priest and a person working for the rehabilitation of drug addicts, on Tuesday, October 26, filed the PIL, urging the HC to direct Malik not to make any comments against the NCB or any other investigating agency with reference to Aryan Khan's drug case and other officers of such agencies. He stated that these acts will result in demoralizing the probe agencies and encourage drug abuse among citizens.

Referring to some of Malik's recent tweets, the PIL states the Minister has been engaging in Twitter and making allegations against the NCB and its officer Sameer Wankhede to demoralize their work. The plea further claims that under the supervision of Wankhede, the NCB has proven to be the most effective agency in the recent past. The Bombay High Court hasn't assigned a date for hearing the PIL. 

Aryan Khan case

On October 3, Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan and several others were arrested in connection with NCB’s Mumbai unit raids conducted on a cruise ship off the city coast. They were arrested and accused of consumption and ‘conspiracy’, among other charges. Senior advocates Satish Maneshinde and Amit Desai are part of Aryan Khan’s legal team who have been arguing the case for the release of the 23-year-old. Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, representing the NCB, has opposed the bail plea over major points. 

Aryan Khan has been charged under four Sections including Section 8(c), Section 20(b), Section 27, and Section 35 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. 

On October 24, an independent witness, Prabhakar Sail, had submitted an affidavit stating that Sameer Wankhede and the independent witnesses were trying to extort money in the case. 

(With PTI input)

(Image: PTI/ANI)