Mumbai: Special court permits Rhea Chakraborty to travel to Abu Dhabi for IIFA awards

Chakraborty, who was named an accused by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in a drugs case filed following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in 2020, had bail conditions including that she cannot travel abroad without the court’s permission.

In her plea filed through lawyer Nikhil Maneshinde, Chakraborty had submitted that she wants to travel this week for the IIFA awards for four days. The plea states that the criminal prosecution in the case has affected her with her acting career having faced setbacks leading to financial losses.

“That due to the present criminal prosecution and surrounding circumstances, the Applicant has already suffered significant setbacks to her acting career and incurred significant financial losses. Hence, opportunities such as these are extremely important for the Applicant’s future prospects in the Film Industry and greatly impact her ability to earn her own livelihood. It would not be out of place to mention that the Applicant’s aged parents are also financially dependent on her,” her plea said.

The plea states that she has been invited by IIFA’s director to walk the green carpet, give away an award and also host an interaction.

Chakraborty’s application states that she has regularly attended court and the next hearing will not be affected by her travel.

The court allowing her plea to travel between June 2 and 5, has directed her to file her place of stay during her travel, her itinerary and documents of her stay with the court and the investigating officer. It has also directed her to report to the Indian Embassy at Abu Dhabi daily and submit the attendance sheet to the court on her return. She has also been directed to furnish additional cash security of Rs 1 lakh with the registry of the court.

Chakraborty was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in October 2020, nearly a month after her arrest by the NCB on September 8.

“She is not part of the chain of drug dealers. She has not forwarded the drugs allegedly procured by her to somebody else to earn monetary or other benefits… (there is) nothing at this stage to show Rhea had committed any offence involving commercial quantity of contraband,” the high court had said while setting conditions for her bail.

The trial in the case is yet to commence.