Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan being taken for a medical check up in Mumbai (Express Photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan Drug Case Live Update: A special Mumbai court on Wednesday rejected the bail application of Aryan Khan. Bail applications of two others, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha, were also rejected.
Twelve others arrested in the cruise ship case have also filed for bail. The NCB has filed their replies and Special Judge V V Patil will begin hearing arguments of the other accused from tomorrow.
Aryan (23) is currently lodged in Arthur Road prison in Mumbai after he was arrested by the NCB following the alleged drug seizure from a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on October 2.
In its last hearing on October 19, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh, appearing for the NCB, argued that there was need to take a “serious view” of drug abuse among youngsters, and that the principle of innocent until proven guilty does not apply under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. “The present applicant (Aryan) is not a consumer for the first time. The evidence placed before the court shows that he is a regular consumer of contraband for the last few years.
Senior lawyer Amit Desai representing Aryan said the NCB had submitted no material on how granting bail to Aryan would hamper its investigation, including any communication or chats on alleged drug use at the cruise party that was raided. After hearing the arguments, Special Judge V V Patil reserved its order.
Twelve others arrested in the cruise ship case have also filed for bail. The NCB has filed their replies now.
NCB special public prosecutor Advait Sethna pleads that arguments be adjourned so that they can go through the order passed against Aryan Khan and two others first. Defence lawyers of the 12 lawyers say NCB is using a delay tactic.
Special Judge V V Patil will begin hearing arguments of the other accused from tomorrow.
Aryan Khan's bail application rejected by special court. Bail application of two others Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha also rejected.
Shah Rukh Khan who has always spoken of his children as his world is just a parent right now. And, as parents ourselves, trying to steer a new generation in a world that is again changing, we know as well as SRK that there are no easy answers, no fingers to point, no stones to be cast. We are all as fallible as the next person in a system rigged to trip you, to hit you at your lowest, to catch you at your littlest. Any one of ours can be the next Aryan, without the searing spotlight.
And, if it is any consolation, SRK, you are that again — one of ours.
Read Shalini Langer's opinion, here
Aryan Khan assured NCB officials during counseling that he would work for the welfare of the poor and never do anything that would besmirch his name in the future, an official said.
During counselling by officials including NCB’s zonal director Sameer Wankhede and social workers, Aryan said after his release, he will work for “social and financial uplift of the poor and downtrodden” and never do anything which could bring him publicity for the wrong reasons, said an agency official. “He said `I will do something that will make you proud of me,'” the official added.
Aryan Khan’s arrest was a shocking and dramatic event that had all of us sit up and take notice. Aryan is the son of a multi-millionaire father who also happens to be one of Bollywood’s longest surviving superstars. Before the NCB could even officially confirm the arrest or state the charges against Aryan, a flood of memes appeared on social media mocking his arrest. Memes that were cruel, disparaging and reeked of smug satisfaction from watching a wealthy young man fall from grace. Many of them were targeted at his superstar father.
It is time to examine our dysfunctional relationship with Bollywood celebrities who we love to hate. Hatred is a parasite that constantly needs anger and disgruntlement to feed on. While we can’t erase the economic divide between the haves and have nots, we can act in time to salvage our residual humanity before this blaze of rage and prejudice consumes us all. Read more
There are clear similarities in the two alleged drug busts by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Mumbai over the past year, involving actor Rhea Chakraborty and Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan.
In neither case was the central agency able to show any drug seizures on Aryan or Rhea, nor did it carry out blood tests on either of them to determine whether they had consumed drugs. In both cases, the NCB detained the two suspects, got access to their mobile phones, and used material stored in the devices, including deleted WhatsApp chats, to arrest them. Read more
Calling the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) allegations of “illicit drug trafficking” against Aryan Khan as “inherently absurd”, his lawyer said a reformative approach is needed, as Aryan has suffered enough.
Senior lawyer Amit Desai said that the “very serious and frightening” term of “illicit drug trafficking” was being dumped on Aryan, though no drug or other material were recovered from him. The NCB opposed bail to Aryan and two others stating that though no drugs were found on him, he cannot be looked at in isolation and that it was investigating an “international drugs connection”. Read more
A special Mumbai court will today pronounce its orders on bail applications filed by Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case. The verdict will be pronounced at 2.45 pm.
Whether you have grown up ensconced in layers of privilege or hail from middle-class origins, slander is devastating — and a prison stint is likely to be a (unpleasant) transformative experience. A day in jail lasts an eternity in the absence of stimulation to alleviate the cruelly meticulous passing of time. One way to see it, at least in the case of the young Khan, is that it is an ordeal he will be none the worse for, the bizarre episode a brutal lesson that systems created to ensure fairness don’t necessarily work. The collateral damage is more for the other young people arrested with Khan, their names and faces flashing across TV channels over the last fortnight. Due process and the rule of law — innocent till proven guilty — means nothing, faced with the juggernaut of social media that so cunningly amplifies our negatives. Google doesn’t let a past die and this incident is bound to resurface through their lives at the most inopportune of moments.
Read Leher Kala's opinion, here
A Shiv Sena leader has moved the Supreme Court seeking judicial enquiry into affairs of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) at Mumbai and its officials in the wake of the arrest of Aryan Khan. The petition has urged the apex court to take suo moto cognizance to protect the fundamental rights of Aryan who has been booked under the NDPS Act by NCB, Zonal Office, Mumbai.
“I would like to point out towards the malafide style, approach and dirty vendetta affairs of NCB at Mumbai and it’s officials targeting select film celebrity & few models since last two years and would like to request Your Honour to order to institute special judicial investigation & enquiry to unearth the role of NCB official,” the plea filed by Mumbai-based Shiv Sena leader Kishore Tiwari said.
In an Instagram post, Khanna shared a portion of her blog post titled, ‘Let the desi Squid Games begin’. Citing the example from one of the episodes of the popular South Korean drama, she wrote, “Each player is given ten marbles and must get their opponent’s marbles by competing in any game of their choosing. In this episode, one of the strongest candidates is badgered and ultimately bamboozled into losing his marbles. I seem to have misplaced mine as well when I read the news about Shah Rukh Khan’s son’s arrest.”
Twinkle Khanna found it unfair that Aryan has been in jail for two weeks without any evidence against him, “While his friend was apparently carrying 6 gm of charas, there is reportedly no evidence of possession by Aryan Khan. Yet, the young boy has been languishing in Arthur Road jail for almost two weeks now.”
Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar on Tuesday said the Hindi film industry is under the scanner because of its “high profile” nature and it is the “price” it has to pay. There have been voices on social media that felt the case against Aryan was a deliberate attempt to target the film industry.
When asked if he feels that Bollywood is being routinely targeted with raids, Akhtar told reporters, “This is the price the film industry has to pay for being high profile. When you are high profile, people have fun pulling you down, throwing muck at you. If you are a nobody, then who has the time to throw stones at you?” Akhtar was speaking at the launch of the book Changemakers written by authors Almas Virani and Sweta Samota.
A special Mumbai court will today pronounce its orders on bail applications filed by Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case. Seven others including Aryan’s friend Arbaaz Merchant and model Munmun Dhamecha were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on October 3.
Follow this space to track the latest news from Aryan Khan bail hearing