'They Are Young Kids; Not Peddlers' : Lawyers For Aryan Khan & Others Plead For Bail In Cruise Ship Drug Case

The Special NDPS Court in Mumbai today heard the bail applications of Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha, who are under custody since their arrest in the cruise ship drug case on October 3. Special Judge VV Patil will continue the bail hearing tomorrow, The Narcotics Control Bureau detained and subsequently arrested Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha on October 3, after six and five grams of charas was allegedly seized from Merchant and Dhamecha respectively. Senior Advocate Amit Desai appearing for Aryan Khan argued that there has been no recovery from Khan and the maximum case against him is admission of consumption. "None of the recoveries mentioned in the panchnama was from Aryan. If he did not have cash, he had no plans to purchase. If he had no substance, he wasn't going to sell or consume," Desai submitted. The NCB on the other hand alleged that Khan is involved in the illicit "procurement and distribution" of contraband, and further he was in touch with some persons abroad who appear to be a part of an International Drug Network for illicit procurement. However, Desai maintained that Khan has no connection with the co-accused. Background All three, Aryan, Arbaz and Munmun were booked under sections 8(c) read with 20b (purchase), 27 (consumption), 28 (attempt to commit offence), 29 (abetment/ conspiracy) and 35 (presumption of culpable mental state) of the NDPS Act. They approached the special court after a magistrate's court rejected his bail application on the grounds that it was not maintainable. In his bail plea, Khan argued that no contraband was found on him and at most the allegations against him would attract a one-year jail term. Moreover, the embargo for bail under section 37 of the NDPS Act would not apply as no recoveries were made from him and all the allegations pertain only to small quantities. He also stated that 'the prosecution is relying solely upon certain alleged WhatsApp chats to entangle him in the present proceedings, without the veracity or accuracy of the chats being established.' The NCB on the other hand claimed that there is prima facie sufficient material in form of WhatsApp chats, pictures etc to show that Khan was an active part of the illicit drug chain with other co-accused persons. Allegations of illicit drug trade against Aryan Khan are baseless: Sr Adv Desai Desai argued that all the information that is coming in this investigation is about other accused. However, an impression is being tried to create that there is a connection between Aryan and the other accused. "They just arrest anyone and then say one is a supplier, financier and then apply conspiracy." He also opposed the allegation levelled by NCB that Khan is part of an illicit drug chain and highlighted that the agency has yet not invoked Section 27A against him, which relates to illicit traffic, as it is aware that is not involved in any illicit trafficking. "This is a very serious term that they have dumped on Aryan Khan. I have no doubt that my friends know what is illicit trafficking according to the NDPS Act means…This boy had nothing, he was not even on the vessel. It is an absurd and false allegation." Charges against Aryan Khan not sustainable: Sr Adv Desai Significantly, Aryan is booked under sections 8(c) read with 20b (purchase), 27 (consumption), 28 (attempt to commit offence), 29 (abetment/ conspiracy) and 35 (presumption of culpable mental state) of the NDPS Act, Desai argued that Section 20b would not apply because there is no possession. Section 28 would also have no application since Aryan was picked up at the gangway and thus, in law, there was no attempt. Section 29 would also not apply since only Aryan and Arbaaz were together, thus there was no indication of conspiracy. He further stated that the charge of Section 27 has been invoked on the basis of a "so-called confessional statement" recorded under section 67 NDPS Act. They are young kids, not peddlers: Sr Adv Desai Appealing to the Court's conscience, Desai submitted, "We as a country have moved into a reformative state. Where earlier the punishment for consumption was five years has been brought down to one year in 2001. Following a UN convention many countries removed cannabis from the schedule of dangerous drugs. They are some young kids. In many countries these substances are legal. Let us not penalize in bail. Let us not make it worse for them. They have suffered enough, they have learnt their lesson, if at all. They are not peddlers, racketeers or traffickers." NCB can't rely on accused' WhatsApp chats due to non-seizure of mobiles: Adv Sayed for Arbaaz Advocate Taraq Sayed appearing for Arbaaz Merchant argued that none of the WhatsApp chats can be looked into by the NCB because there is no seizure panchnama for the mobile phones. He stated that when the accused ...

'They Are Young Kids; Not Peddlers' : Lawyers For Aryan Khan & Others Plead For Bail In Cruise Ship Drug Case

Sharmeen Hakim

"They just arrest anyone and then say one is a supplier, financier and then apply conspiracy", Aryan Khan's lawyer argued.

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