In a huge setback to Aryan Khan and his family, a special Mumbai court rejected his bail application on October 20, according to reports. It's Aryan Khan's 17th day in custody and he will continue to remain in prison. His lawyers have now approached High Court to appeal against the bail plea rejection.
Aryan's bail was rejected after two stringent sections -- 27 A and 29 --of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act -- was invoked in the Aryan Khan case by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). Earlier, Rhea Chakraborty was also slapped with the same sections when she was arrested following the death of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The bail applications of two others, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha, were also rejected on the same day.
Shah Rukh Khan's son and several others were arrested on October 3 by the Narcotics Control Bureau after a drug bust on a luxury ship in Mumbai and they were lodged in Arthur Road prison.
No drugs were found on Khan, but NCB's lawyers argue that a bail would interfere with their on-going investigation on battle against drugs in India. They argue that 23-year-old Khan was found to have alleged links with international drug trade.
His arrest has created widespread furore in India with several stars such as Hrithik Roshan and Javed Akhtar extending their support towards Khan. Many feel that Aryan is being targeted because of his faith and his Bollywood links.
According to a report in Times Of India, Aryan's lawyer has claimed that he's innocent and has been falsely implicated. NCB recovered 6gms of Charas (Cannabis) from Aryan's friend Arbaaz Merchant.
Khan and eight others who were detained have been booked under Section 8C, 20B, 27 (Punishment for consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance), 35 (Presumption of culpable mental state) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act), 28 and 29.
According to a report in India Today, during the hearing on October 20 senior advocate Amit Desai with advocate Satish Maneshinde made submissions on behalf of Aryan Khan.
NCB had reportedly opposed the bail application filed by the three accused on the grounds that they were suspected of illicit drug trafficking and criminal conspiracy under NDPS) Act. Khan and three others were denied bail by a magistrate’s court which said it cannot hear the pleas in a case triable by a special NDPS court.
Several celebrities including Pooja Bhatt, Javed Akhtar, Swara Bhasker, Kubbra Sait, and Twinkle Khanna have taken to social media to support Aryan and his famous family. While Roshan wrote an earnest open letter to Aryan to be strong under pressure, author Khanna felt that Aryan was being targeted.
Khanna compared Aryan’s drug case to ‘Desi Squid Games’, alluding to the hit South Korean show.
“Each player is given ten marbles and must get their opponent’s marbles by competing in any game of their choosing. In this episode, one of the strongest candidates is badgered and ultimately bamboozled into losing his marbles. I seem to have misplaced mine as well when I read the news about Shah Rukh Khan’s son’s arrest,” wrote Khanna on her Instagram account.
“While his friend was apparently carrying 6 gms of charas, there is reportedly no evidence of possession by Aryan Khan. Yet, the young boy has been languishing in Arthur Road jail for almost two weeks now,” said Khanna.
NCB has repeatedly claimed that NCB has found incriminating evidence against Aryan on his WhatsApp.
