Mumbai Court Orders De-Freezing Of Actor Rhea Chakraborty's Bank Account In NDPS Case

A special NDPS court in Mumbai recently ordered 'de-freezing' of the bank account of Bollywood actor Rhea Chakraborty, which was freezed by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) while investigating a drugs-related case linked to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Additional Sessions Judge UC Deshmukh while ordering the 'de-freezing' of the bank accounts of Rhea and her mother Sandhya noted that the NCB failed to obtain an order from the competent authority confirming the freezing of the said accounts as mandated under section 68F of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

As per Section 68F NDPS Act, an officer conducting an inquiry or investigation under section 68E can pass a seizure or freezing order however it shall have no effect unless the order is confirmed by an order of the competent authority within a period of thirty days of its being made.

"The NDPS Act provides that an order of freezing or seizing the property shall have no effect unless such order is confirmed by an order of the competent authority within period of 30 days of its being made. There is no dispute that subject matter of the bank account has been freeze by the Officer of the NCB. The agency does not deny that there is no compliance of Sub-section (2) of Section 68F of the Act. There is no order as contemplated to be passed under such provisions of Act. Therefore, in view of Section 68F of the Act, the application is liable to be allowed," Judge Deshmukh said in the order passed on April 25.

Notably, the NCB through additional public prosecutor Geeta Nayyar had vehemently opposed Rhea and her mother Sandhya's plea seeking to de-freeze their account. The anti-drug peddling agency had relied on Rhea's statements highlighting that she is an active member of a 'drug syndicate' and has contacted several drug peddlers. Therefore, the NCB contended that it was satisfied in freezing the bank accounts of the accused and accordingly urged the court to reject the application.

Judge Deshmukh, however, found substance in the arguments put forth by Rhea's counsel and ordered 'de-freezing' of her account maintained with the ICICI bank.

"The Applicants or the accounts holders of the bank account are hereby permitted to operate the said bank account as per rules and regulation of Reserve Bank of India (RBI)," Judge Deshmukh ordered.

Notably, Rhea was initially named in the case related to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and during the investigations, the NCB carried out a separate probe with relation to the consumption of drugs by Rhea and others. She was arrested in the case and was subsequently granted bail by the Bombay High Court in October 2020. The 34-year-old actor Rajput was found hanging at his apartment in Mumbai's Bandra area on June 14, 2020.

Case title: Sandhya Chakraborty & Anr v/s Union of India (Through Narcotic Control Bureau)

SPECIAL (NDPS) CASE NO. 344 OF 2021

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