'Occasional' tipple robs Mumbai chef of immunity in drugs case

MUMBAI: Observing that it was not a fit case to grant immunity from prosecution as he still had alcohol "occasionally", a special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act court recently rejected the plea of a 23-year-old Mahim chef arrested in a drugs case probed following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Yen Valavalkar sought immunity after undergoing mandatory rehabilitation and a de-addiction programme. Under section 64-A of NDPS Act, anyone caught with small quantities of drugs can seek immunity after the programme.
Yen told the court he had consumed cannabis during the lockdown as his business was not doing well and had stopped now. On whether he still consumed alcohol, he replied "occasionally", prompting the court to reject his plea. "In such circumstances, I do not think this is a fit case to award immunity from the prosecution," said special judge V G Raghuwanshi said.
Chef Yen Valavalkar, in his plea to the special NDPS court, said after he was caught with a small quantity of drugs he had decided to stop consumption, and undergo a de-addiction course.
"It is submitted that the NDPS Act is a reformative act wherein a chance is given to persons who are charged with small quantity or consumption to undergo de-addiction... It is submitted that the applicant has undergone a de-addiction treatment successfully from Drug De-addiction Laboratory, at KEM Hospital, Parel," the plea said.
Yen was arrested on January 25, 2021, by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). He was subsequently granted bail by the magistrate's court. In his plea, Yen said he had completed his degree from Le Cordon BLEU Paris and had been working in restaurants in Copenhagen, Denmark. His plea said after his return he has been running a home kitchen for food delivery.
The prosecution, however, said there was was a strong case against Yen for consumption with small quantity of contraband and that this was not a fit case for discharge. "It is denied that Yen is wrongly prosecuted, innocent and has not committed any crime and he has been falsely implicated," the NCB said. It also said Yen revealed he procured marijuna... from co-accused Dwayne Fernandes. "It is also disclosed that Yen made a payment through his GooglePay account to Dwayne... Yen has also had some incriminating chats with Dwayne, Survadeep Malhotra, Anuj Ghuge and Showik Chakroborty...Yen also appeared in some incriminating voice-recording," the prosecution said.
Showik is brother of Rajput's partner Rhea Chakraborty. Both siblings are accused in the case and 35 accused are named.
In the past too, several accused involved in such cases have been granted immunity. Actor Fardeen Khan was granted relief in 2012 in a 2001 drug case. On December 19, 2011 Khan had filed an application in court stating that he has undergone a de-addiction therapy from KEM Hospital and hence, according to the law, he should be exempted from being prosecuted. NCB had arrested Khan at Juhu on May 5, 2001, while he was about to buy one gm of cocaine from a dealer. In October 2011, a special trial judge said the charge was of attempt to purchase cocaine. The prosecution subsequently told court that following therapy, it had no objection to Khan seeking immunity.
Special judge G A Sanap, however, stated that if in near future, Khan is found violating the NDPS Act, immunity will be withdrawn and not only the prosecution will file fresh charges against Khan, but he will also be prosecuted for the present case.