Breaking: Mumbai Court Rejects Further NCB Custody Of Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant, Munmun Dhamecha And Others In Cruise Ship Drug Case

A Mumbai Court has on Thursday rejected further NCB Custody of Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan, actor Arbaaz Merchant and model Munmun Dhamecha and other accused in the Cruise ship drugs case. Aryan Khan and 7 other accused have been remanded to judicial custody instead. "No custodial interrogation is required as sufficient time was granted to the investigating officer for investigation," Additional Metropolitan Magistrate RM Nirlekar said. The Court observed that while there is no doubt that it is NCB's right to claim custody for investigation, simply remanding the accused to NCB custody would violate their fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution.Additional Metropolitan Magistrate RM Nirlekar noted that considering the date of arrest of the accused and taking ASGs arguments as it is, by no stretch of imagination it can be said that the custody of the accused is necessary with the NCB authorities because Aryan's statement was recorded on 3rd wherein he disclosed Aachit's name but Aachit was arrested yesterday.The Court however stated that it does not want to go into that aspect as to why the Investigating Officer took so much time to arrest Aachit, alleged to have supplied drugs to Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant.The Court also found force in submissions made by Counsels for Aryan Khan and the other accused that when Aryan and Aachit were in NCBs custody since October 6, nothing was investigated.Before passing the order, the Court noted that according to decisions cited by the accused only in exceptional circumstances Police custody should be sought.The Court also made note of submissions made by ASG Anil Singh appearing for Narcotics Control Bureau that further custody of the accused is required considering the subsequent events.The Court recorded submissions made by Aryan Khan's Counsel Advocate Satish Maneshinde who prayed for judicial custody and said that except for being interrogated once, he has not been interrogated and the remand report clearly shows that his presence is not necessary."The same has been reiterated by the other accused, who added that the remand is vague, cleverly drafted alleging conspiracy. They argued that even after five days the NCB failed to establish the nexus of the accused. And in these circumstances police custody is not justified," the Court recorded.The NCB had today sought custody of the 8 accused in the case, including Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant Munmun Dhamecha, Nupur Satija, Ishmeet Singh, Mohak Jaswal, Vikrant Chhoker, Gomit Chopra till October 11th.ASG Anil Singh argued that prima facie it appears it is a case of conspiracy, and therefore confrontation of these 8 persons is necessary for the case. He added that confrontation of these accused with the other accused Aachit Kumar and the intercepted foreign national is also essential for the investigation of the case and to ascertain the role played by each individual in this nexus in the supply chainAdvocate Satish Maneshinde appearing for Aryan Khan argued that Aryan Khan's custody was no longer required and nothing was recovered from him. He argued that Aryan cannot be held hostage while NCB arrests the other culprits and the question of confronting Aryan Khan with someone cannot be the only ground to remand him to custody.Courtroom Exchange: On Thursday, Special Prosecutor for the NCB, Advocate Advait Sethna sought custody of all the accused persons till October 11. The NCB submitted before the Court that so far 17 people had been arrested. The new detainee Aachit Kumar had been arrested on October 6 along with the recovery of contraband on the basis of the statements of both Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant. Thus, for further investigation, confrontation with the already accused persons is necessary, the NCB contended. "Confrontation of these respondents with the said accused no. 17 Aachit Kumar and the intercepted foreign national is essential for the investigation of the case and to ascertain the role played by each individual in this nexus in the supply chain.", the remand application stated. Advocate Advait Sethna informed the Court that the accused Achit Kumar is part of the Ganja supplying network, and 2.6 grams of ganja was recovered from him. Also he was the supplier for the accused Aryan and Arbaz Merchant.He argued that since new facts and nuances are coming up, and there is an apparent nexus, custody is being sought till 11 to keep everyone on the same pedestal. Advocate Ashwin Thool appearing for one of the accused Aachit Kumar argued that if the NCB is saying his client is part of a network, why has he been charged only with consumption."The way this agency lies, I am saying this with some responsibility. At 2pm they come.to my house on the 5th. I am in their custody since then. Now they show me arrested on the 6th. They are lying before this court. These lies need to stop somewhere," Mr Thool said.Arguing that the Agency is on document lying to the court, Advocate Ashwin ...

Breaking: Mumbai Court Rejects Further NCB Custody Of Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant, Munmun Dhamecha And Others In Cruise Ship Drug Case

Sharmeen Hakim

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