Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son has been denied bail by a Mumbai sessions court.
The order was delivered by Special Judge VV Patil in a bail hearing that had the world riveted.
The bail applications of Arbaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha, who were arrested alongside Aryan, were also denied.
Ahead of Aryan Khan’s bail hearing today, fans of Shah Rukh Khan have gathered outside his plush bungalow in the Mumbai suburb of Bandra in a show of solidarity.
Aryan's bail hearing was in relation to a drug bust aboard a Goa-bound cruise ship that has resulted in 20 others arrested in the aftermath of the investigation by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
Fans of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh and his celebrity friends, including Hrithik and Sussanne Roshan, Pooja Bhatt, Pooja Bedi, Raveena Tandon, Swara Bhaskar and politicians Shashi Tharoor and Mehbooba Mufti have all come out in support of the famous family following Aryan’s arrest on October 3.
Lyricist and scriptwriter Javed Akhtar, while addressing media during an event in Mumbai on Tuesday, also spoke at length about Aryan’s arrest, claiming this entire case was the price of fame the Bollywood superstar and his family were being forced to play, while echoing the statements made by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray earlier this week over the Mundra port drug bust in Gujarat last month where 2,988.21kg of narcotics were seized.
“I’ve not seen any headline on recovery of cocaine worth 1 billion dollars at a port but the recovery of charas or ganja worth 1.30 lakh, where only 1,200 people were present, has become big national news,” the 76-year-old veteran said, as reported by ANI, referring to the Cordelia Cruise ship drug bust that saw Aryan arrested.
“This is the price the film industry has to pay for being high profile because when you are so, people want to pull you down,” Akhtar added.
Aryan, who has been lodged in Arthur Road jail, has had several of his WhatsApp chats submitted in court by the Mumbai NCB. The authority has stated it found drug-related WhatsApp chats that are allegedly between Aryan and a debut actress, as reported by ANI.
