New Delhi: The Bombay High Court in its detailed order granting bail to Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and two other in the cruise ship drug case said on Saturday, “Prima facie there is no evidence on record to infer that Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha conspired to commit offences under the Narcotics Drug and Psychotropic Substance Act”.
Justice Nitin Sambre had granted bail on October 28, a detailed copy of which was made available today. The trio was booked under Section 27, 28, 29, Section 8 (c), Section 20 (b) and Section 35 of 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 act,” the order read.
“Merely because Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant, and Munmun Dhamecha were travelling in the same cruise, that by itself cannot be a foundation for the charge of conspiracy against them,” the court said while explaining the grounds of the bail.
“There is absence of material on record of them having such meeting of of minds with other Accused who were named in the offence in question. Case of the prosecution that Applicants have admitted to commit an offence also amounts to an offence under the NDPS Act. Even if it is appreciated, the maximum punishment prescribed is not more than one year for such offence. Applicants have already suffered incarceration for almost 25 days”, said Justice Sambre.
“The applicants were were not even subjected to medical examination so as to determine whether at the relevant time, they had consumed drugs”, he added.
Aryan Khan was arrested on October 3. An NCB team busted an alleged drugs party on the Cordelia Cruise ship which was on its way to Goa at mid-sea on October 2. A total of 20 people, including two Nigerian nationals, have been arrested so far in the case.
