India / Aryan to spend another night in jail as court adjourns bail plea hearing till tomorrow

Mumbai: The hearing of the bail plea of Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan has been adjourned on Wednesday and the court will resume the hearing on Thursday as ASG Anil Kumar Singh, NCB counsel, could not finish his argument by 5.30pm on Wednesday and sought to resume his argument on Thursday 12 pm.

In its reply to Aryan Khan's bail application, the Narcotics Control Bureau said its primary interrogation has revealed that Aryan Khan is part of a bigger chain notwithstanding the fact that he was not in possession of any drug at the time of the raid.  The NCB said the agency is not concerned over one person but the bail of one person can hamper the investigation. 

Not even on the cruise: What Aryan Khan's lawyer Amit Desai said

Instead of Satish Maneshinde, senior advocate Amit Desai argued for Aryan Khan on Wednesday. He said Aryan Khan was not even on the cruise when the agency raided the rave party. He was apprehended on his way to the party and he and Arbaaz Merchant were stopped at the gate of the party by NCB officials and were asked whether they were carrying drugs. No drug was found from Aryan Khan while Arbaaz Khan was in possession of 6 gram charas. 

Aryan Khan's lawyer also said that they are not peddlers, racketeers or traffickers. India as a country has moved into considering punishments as an opportunity for reforms, he said adding that the punishment for consumption was brought down from five years to one year in 2001.

“They are some young kids. In many countries these substances are legal. Let us not penalise 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. 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,” Desai said. 

'The argument is I was invited': says ASG Anil Singh opposing Aryan Khan's bail

Appearing for the NCB, ASG Anil Singh said the quantity of the drugs recovered is immaterial as they, including Aryan Khan, are a part of a bigger nexus. Singh said Aryan and Arbaaz know each other for eight to 10 years. On that day, they met before and went to the party together. The 6 gram charas recovered from Arbaaz Merchant was for their consumption. Though Aryan Khan was not found with drugs, he was aware of the possession and he was invited to the party, ASG Singh said. The NCB in its reply to Aryan Khan's bail plea said its investigation has revealed that Aryan Khan used to procure drugs from Arbaaz and his dealers. Referring to the WhatsApp chats, ASG Singh said there was mention of ‘bulk quantity’ which must not be for personal consumption and might be for sourcing for others.