Drugs-on-cruise case: Special court refuses bail to Aryan Khan

Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and fashion model Munmun Dhamecha will now have to approach the Bombay High Court for bail

A special court here on Wednesday refused to grant bail to Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, and two others in connection with the case of seizure of banned drugs on board a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

Special Judge V V Patil, designated to hear cases related to the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, rejected the bail pleas of Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and fashion model Munmun Dhamecha.

They will now have to approach the Bombay High Court for bail.

When the matter was called out for order in the afternoon, special judge Patil said, "Rejected."

The trio was arrested on October 3 by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for alleged conspiracy, possession, consumption, purchase and trafficking of drugs.

Aryan Khan and the others have been booked for offences under Sections 8(c), 20(b), 27, 28, 29 and 35 of the NDPS Act.

The trio is presently in judicial custody. While Aryan Khan and Merchant are lodged at the Arthur Road prison in Mumbai, Dhamecha is lodged at the Byculla women's prison here.

Aryan Khan had in his bail plea said the NCB's contention that he was involved in conspiracy and illicit drug trafficking was absurd, and pointed out that there was no recovery of drugs made from him.

The NCB, however, opposed the bail plea and said Aryan Khan had been consuming drugs for a few years now and was in touch with some persons who appear to be a part of an international drug network for procurement of drugs.

The agency was relying on WhatsApp chats of Aryan Khan, which they claim point towards procurement of bulk quantities of drugs.

The NCB had argued that although there was no recovery from Aryan Khan, the recovery of six grams of Charas from his friend Arbaaz Merchant points to conscious possession by Aryan Khan.

So far, 20 people have been arrested in the case.