Cruise drugs case: HC exempts Aryan from weekly appearance at NCB office

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday exempted Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, from his weekly appearance before the Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) office here in connection with the cruise drugs case.

A single bench of Justice N W Sambre said the condition imposed on Aryan Khan while granting him bail that he has to appear before the NCB office every Friday is modified.

"The applicant (Aryan) shall attend the office of NCB Delhi as and when directed by the agency, provided the NCB issues a 72-hour notice to the applicant," Justice Sambre said.

The court also modified another condition laid down in the bail order that required him to furnish his itinerary to the NCB every time he travels out of Mumbai.

"The applicant need not submit his itinerary if he is travelling to Delhi for recording his statement. He shall submit his itinerary to the NCB in case of any other travel outside Mumbai," Justice Sambre said.

Aryan Khan was granted bail by the HC in the case on October 28. One of the conditions imposed on him was that he should appear before the NCB's south Mumbai office every Friday to mark his presence.

The 23-year-old last week filed an application seeking waiver of this condition on the ground that the case is now being probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the NCB's Delhi office.

"The NCB's Mumbai office has now nothing to do with the case. My client (Aryan) has been cooperating with the probe and has, in fact, also appeared before the SIT probing the case and recorded his statement," Aryan Khan's counsel Amit Desai argued.

He said Aryan Khan has no hesitation to appear before the NCB's SIT at Delhi as and when summons are issued to him.

NCB's advocate Shreeram Shirsat told the court that the agency does not have any objection to the modification.

"However, the applicant should appear before the NCB's SIT as and when summoned either in Mumbai or Delhi," Shirsat told the court.

Desai further argued that every time Aryan Khan appears before the NCB's office in Mumbai, there is a huge crowd and he has to be accompanied by police personnel, which causes unnecessary hassle.

Aryan Khan was arrested by the NCB on October 3 on charges of alleged possession, consumption and sale/purchase of drugs following a raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

He was granted later granted bail by the HC, which had imposed 14 conditions on him.

He was asked, among other things, to appear before the NCB every Friday, not to leave Mumbai without informing the agency and not to leave India without permission from the special NDPS court.