What do Aryan Khan, Rhea Chakraborty, Salman Khan have in common? Meet Satish Maneshinde, lawyer to the Bollywood stars

Celebrity kid Aryan Khan, who has been arrested in a drugs case, is getting the best representation money can buy – lawyer Satish Maneshinde. Name sounding familiar? It should: he’s got an A-list clientele that includes Salman Khan and Rhea Chakraborty. Here’s what you need to know about this defense attorney to the stars.

Maneshinde’s first act of defence was offense: he said that Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan had been to a party where drugs had been found, but he had none on him. Whether the argument holds any water will be made clear today as Aryan, who has been in the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) custody since October 2, seeks bail. On October 7, Aryan was in court for his bail hearing, however the NCB wants custody of him for longer — until October 11. The star kid has reportedly been cooperating with the NCB and has given a four-page statement in the case that started on a cruise liner.

Maneshinde was Salman Khan’s lawyer back in 1998 when he was in legal trouble over blackbuck poaching. Maneshinde later made headlines in 2002 when he took on Salman’s drunk driving case. Salman, for those who don’t remember, made bail before being acquitted.

Sanjay Dutt was also defended by Satish Maneshinde in the 1993 Bombay bomb case and was granted bail. Maneshinde later represented Dutt in the 2007 Arms Act case.

Recently, Maneshinde famously defended actress Rhea Chakraborty who was accused in Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case. Rajput’s family accused Chakraborty of ‘abetment to suicide’, and the actress was later arrested for alleged possession of drugs. According to many reports, Maneshinde’s legal fees can come up to around Rs1.5-2 million a day.

Maneshinde worked with top lawyer Ram Jethmalani for almost 10 years and was involved in a number of high-profile cases, including some involving Bollywood celebrities. Maneshinde also defended TV personality Rakhi Sawant in a suicide abetment case.

Satish Maneshinde is a native of Dharwad, Karnataka, where he studied law. He began his legal career as a junior associate with Ram Jethmalani, one of India’s best lawyers.