Maharashtra Cabinet Minister's Son-In-Law Granted Bail In NDPS Case

A special court on Monday granted bail to three accused, including Sameer Khan, son-in-law of NCP leader and state Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik, in a case involving the alleged recovery of over 194.6 kg of Ganja. The two other accused who have been granted bail are celebrity manager Rahila Khan and UK National Karan Sejnani. The accused were arrested in January and booked under sections 8 (c), r/w 20 (B)(2)(C), 27-A, 27, 28 and 29 of the NDPS Act, 1985 for conspiring to procure, sell, purchase and transport 194.6 kg of commercial quantity of ganja and six CBD sprays. In his bail application, Khan claimed that except for 7.5 gms of ganja allegedly recovered from a co-accused, none of the 194.6 kg of the substance seized in the case is covered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. However, the agency argued that while eight of the 18 samples sent for forensic testing may have turned out to be negative, the remaining seized substances despite including the vegetative part of the cannabis plant amounting to 86 kgs of ganja, were covered under the Act. The Case On January 9, a team of NCB raided the office of Universal Couriers and Cargo and found parcels for export in accused Karan Sejnani's name with allegedly 70 grams, 265 grams and 3.5 grams of ganja. After a raid in his flat, the NCB allegedly seized 4 big cartons of contraband and another 4 big sacks. It is further the case of the prosecution that 6 CBD sprays were also recovered. While the NCB claimed that the accused conspired to procure, sell, purchase and transport 194.6 kg of ganja and six CBD sprays, chemical analysis reports annexed to the charge sheet showed that 8 of the 18 samples sent for forensic analysis, were negative. The 8 samples would amount to over 85kg of the seizure. Khan claimed that there was no recovery of contraband at his behest, therefore the charge u/s 20 (B)(2)(C) of the NDPS Act is not made out. He contended that while several samples were negative, the CA report clearly showed that huge quantities seized were the vegetative part of cannabis(Trichomes), which is not a banned substance under the Act. Copy of detailed order is awaited. Case Title: Sameer Shabbir Khan vs NCB Mumbai Zonal UnitClick Here To Read/ Download Order

Maharashtra Cabinet Minister's Son-In-Law Granted Bail In NDPS Case

Sharmeen Hakim

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