India: Mumbai court sends Aryan Khan to judicial custody for 14 days

Mumbai - Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son's bail hearing to take place on Friday

Minutes after a Mumbai court sent Aryan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, to judicial custody for 14 days on Thursday evening, his lawyer applied for bail.

The application will be heard on Friday morning. The court sent Aryan and seven others to judicial custody in the luxury cruise drug case.

“No custodial interrogation is required as sufficient time was granted to the officer for investigations,” ruled the additional metropolitan magistrate. The court ruled that remanding the accused to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) would result in a violation of their fundamental rights.

The judge also acknowledged the submission by Satish Maneshinde, Aryan’s lawyer, that despite his being in NCB’s custody, there was no progress in the investigation. Maneshinde had urged the court to grant judicial custody, and that if there was any evidence against Aryan, he would be ready to be examined.

Since the order was issued late in the evening, the court ruled that Aryan would be kept at the NCB office as jails would not be able to accept him at that hour.

Interestingly, the court was willing to take up Aryan’s bail plea late in the evening if the NCB could file its reply; but the bureau said it would do so on Friday, resulting in Aryan and the others being kept at its office.

Shinde told the court that Aryan’s friend Pratik Gawa had invited him as a VVIP guest to the ship. Aryan went alone and met Arzbaan Merchant there. The NCB officials then asked him about drugs, checked his bags, but did not find anything. According to Maneshinde, Aryan has not been interrogated, so there was no case now for custodial interrogation.

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Earlier, the NCB had sought custody of Aryan till October 11, but the court agreed only till Thursday. The NCB claimed incriminating material was found in Aryan’s mobile phone revealing links with international drug traffickers.

The NCB detained Shah Rukh Khan’s son on October 2 along with seven others, including Arbaaz Merchant, Munmun Dhamecha, Ismeet Singh, Mohan Jaswal, Gomit Chopra, Nupur Sarika and Vikrant Chhokar. The bureau claimed it had found incriminating evidence in Aryan’s mobile phone.

• India