[BREAKING] Aryan Khan bail plea: Mumbai court to pronounce order on October 20

A Mumbai Sessions Court today reserved its order in the bail application filed on behalf of Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, in relation to the cruise ship drugs case..Additional Sessions Judge VV Patil will pronounce the order on October 20..Appearing for the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh continued his arguments today. He submitted that the record and evidence showed that Khan was a regular consumer of contraband since the last few years.Opposing the grant of bail to Khan, he said,"The record in the panchnama signed by the applicant establishes that he was in conscious position of contraband because he admits it was with his friend and it was for consumption of both of them.".Justifying the invocation of Section 37 (offences are non-bailable and cognizable) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 against Khan and other accused."I have come with a case of conspiracy. In one case, if there are 15-20 people involved and it is a case of conspiracy, and possession with one accused, then 37 kicks in. And then stringent condition against grant of bail will apply.".The ASG concluded by pointing out how NCB officers were working day and night and at risk to their lives to find a solution to drug trafficking. He added,"This abuse is affecting the young boys. They are college going boys (but) this should not be consideration for bail. I need not tell the court, they are the future of our country. The future of the country depends on this generation.".In his rejoinder submissions, Senior Advocate Amit Desai, appearing for Khan, appreciated the efforts of the NCB officers."Kudos to the NCB for doing this job and I just hope that they continue investigation in a legal manner.".Referring to the ASG's citing of comments made in the Rhea Chakraborty case that celebrities and role models should be treated harshly because of their influence on society, Desai said,"I stand before the Court and urge your lordships to follow the law. No celebrity or role model enjoys special status before the Court, and hence they should be treated equally before law.".Desai also made references to the facts that the statement made by Khan that he had consumed drugs was retracted, and that the mobile phones of the accused were not handed over voluntarily, but seized, without a seizure memo being filed."There has to be a separate memo for that. We have forgotten these things. Nobody stops their investigation, why should it stop my liberty? It stops at liberty, liberty and liberty!"He added,"They say that you are a person at the bottom of the chain, that you are the consumer, and instead of trying to reform you, I will pick you up and put you in jail, till the time the conspiracy is unearthed.".On the WhatsApp chats recovered by NCB, on the basis of which it alluded to an international drug trafficking conspiracy, Desai said,"The language (in the chats) may seems like something different than what ought to be in a court of law. And those conversations may lead to suspicion, as it should. But what is important to be borne in mind is by no stretch of imagination is this boy involved in any kind of conversation of drug trafficking or internal drug trafficking.".Summing up his case, Desai said,"The fundamental argument is that there was a rave party. I was not found with anything. I cannot be held responsible. There is nothing on the phone about the messages about rave party."He urged the Court to grant Khan bail, suggesting that strict conditions can be imposed on him..Yesterday, Desai argued that the NCB's allegation that Aryan Khan was involved in illicit trafficking of drugs in the cruise ship drug case, was inherently absurd.Desai said that Khan was not even on the cruise ship and that there was no recovery of any banned substance from him. He also pointed out that the claims of international trafficking and conspiracy in NCB's reply were not attributed to any of the accused specifically..ASG Anil Singh, on the other hand, said that Khan cannot escape liability on the ground that no recovery was made from him. He also referred to WhatsApp chats recovered from the accused which mention about commercial or bulk quantities and talks with a foreign national with reference to hard drugs."In a case of conspiracy, it is not necessary that with all the accused, commercial quantity is found or intermediate quantity is found," he argued..Khan was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on October 2, 2021 after the NCB raided a cruise ship en route to Goa from Mumbai. He was charged with offences under Section 8(c), 20(b), 27, 28, 29 and 35 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.He had been remanded to NCB custody till October 4, which was extended till October 7. Thereafter, he was remanded to judicial custody after which he immediately moved for bail. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate RM Nerlikar had rejected the bail application, holding that it was not maintainable as only he special court of sessions was entitled to hear the bail plea. In light of the order, Khan moved the special court under the NDPS Act seeking bail..Aryan Khan: Ten days in jail [Read Timeline]