No positive evidence to show Aryan Khan, 2 others conspired to commit drug-related offences: HC
Mumbai, Nov 20: The Bombay High Court, in its detailed order granting bail to actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan and two others in the drugs-on-cruise case, has said that prima facie it has not found any positive evidence against the accused to show that they had conspired to commit an offence.
A single bench of Justice N W Sambre had on October 28 granted bail to Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and a fashion model Munmun Dhamecha in the case on a personal bond of Rs one lakh each. A detailed copy of the order was made available on Saturday.
The court said that perusal of the WhatsApp chats extracted from the phone of Aryan Khan shows that nothing objectionable was noticed to suggest that he, Merchant and Dhamecha along with other accused in the case have hatched a conspiracy of committing the offence in question.
It also held that the confessional statement of Aryan Khan recorded by the NCB under section 67 of the NDPS Act can be considered only for investigation purposes and cannot be used as a tool for drawing an inference that the accused have committed an offence under the NDPS Act.
"There is hardly any positive evidence on record to convince this court that all the accused persons with common intention agreed to commit unlawful acts," the court said while rejecting the Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) argument that the case of all the accused ought to be considered together.
Rather the probe carried out till date suggests that Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant were travelling independently of Munmun Dhamecha and "there was no meeting of minds' on the alleged offence, the 14-page order said.
"So as to infer the case of conspiracy against the applicants also, there is absence of material on record of them having such meeting of minds with the other accused, who were named in the offence in question," the order said.
The court further noted that the trio had already suffered incarceration for almost 25 days and the prosecution had not even conducted a medical examination on them so as to determine if they had consumed drugs.
Aryan Khan, Merchant and Dhamecha were arrested by the NCB on October 3 and were booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for conspiracy, possession, sale, purchase and illicit trafficking of banned substances.
The court in its order noted that Aryan Khan was not found in possession of any objectionable substance and this fact has not been disputed. Merchant and Dhamecha were found to be in illegal possession of drugs, the quantity of which is considered a small quantity.
"The court, in such cases, is first required to ascertain whether there is enough material on record to prima facie infer that the applicants (Aryan Khan, Merchant and Dhamecha) have hatched a conspiracy and that the prosecution was justified in invoking provisions of section 29 (criminal conspiracy) of the NDPS Act," the order said.
It added that to infer so, there has to be positive evidence about an agreement to do an unlawful act and such agreement must precede with meeting of minds.
Justice Sambre further said that the court needs to be sensitive to the fact that there has to be presence of basic material in the form of evidence so as to substantiate the case of conspiracy against the accused persons.
"Merely because the applicants were travelling on the cruise, that by itself cannot be termed as satisfying foundation for invoking provisions of section 29 (conspiracy) of the NDPS Act," the court said.
Justice Sambre further said that even if the case of the prosecution is considered, the maximum punishment is not more than one year for such an offence.
Aryan Khan had walked out of the Arthur Road prison on October 30. As per the bail conditions imposed by the high court, he is required to appear before the NCB office in south Mumbai every Friday to mark his presence and shall not indulge in similar offences or tamper with evidence in the case.
Aryan Khan, Merchant and Dhamecha have also been directed to not leave the country without permission from the trial court and to inform the NCB if they intend to leave Mumbai.
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'Kuch nahi bachta hai': Rahul Gandhi visits local barber for a trim and his story
New Delhi, Oct 25: Hard-working poor people have been robbed of their dreams due to falling incomes and rising inflation, and new schemes that will allow them to take home savings are needed, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said on Friday as he interacted with a barber at a shop here.
Gandhi shared a video on X of his visit to the barber shop in Uttam Nagar's Prajapat Colony. He was seen in the clip enquiring about the barber's problems while getting his beard trimmed.
"'There is nothing left!' These four words of Ajit Bhai and his tears tell the story of every hard-working poor and middle-class person of India today. From barbers to cobblers, potters to carpenters -- falling incomes and rising inflation have robbed the working class of their dreams of having their own shops, houses and even self-respect," the former Congress president said in his post.
What is needed now are modern solutions and new schemes that will increase incomes and bring back savings, Gandhi said.
There is a need for a society where talent gets its due and every step of hard work takes you up the ladder of success, the former Congress chief said.
The Congress also posted a video of the interaction on its X handle.
"Today Jananayak Rahul Gandhi ji got a shave at Ajit ji's shop in Delhi and understood the struggles of his life," the party said on X.
Since his Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra and his Manipur to Mumbai Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi has been interacting with a cross-section of people from mechanics and cobblers to labourers and bus drivers.
He often posts videos of his numerous interactions and highlights the plight of various sections of society.
"कुछ नहीं बचता है!"
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 25, 2024
अजीत भाई के ये चार शब्द और उनके आसूं आज भारत के हर मेहनतकश गरीब और मध्यमवर्गीय की कहानी बयां कर रहे हैं।
नाई से लेकर मोची, कुम्हार से लेकर बढ़ई - घटती आमदनी और बढ़ती महंगाई ने हाथ से काम करने वालों से अपनी दुकान, अपना मकान और स्वाभिमान तक के अरमान छीन लिए… pic.twitter.com/1gYGdui2ll
