A
special
court
in
Mumbai
directed
the
Narcotics
Control
Bureau
(NCB)
to
file
its
reply
on
October
13
to
a
bail
plea
filed
by
Aryan
Khan,
son
of
Bollywood
superstar
Shah
Rukh
Khan,
arrested
in
connection
with
the
seizure
of
banned
drugs
on
board
a
cruise
ship
off
the
Mumbai
coast.
Special
Judge
V
V
Patil,
hearing
matters
related
to
the
Narcotics
Drugs
and
Psychotropic
Substances
(NDPS)
Act,
said
it
would
hear
the
bail
plea
on
Wednesday
(October
13).
Aryan
Khan
was
arrested
on
October
3.
He
is
currently
in
judicial
custody
and
lodged
at
the
Arthur
Road
prison
in
Mumbai.
He
approached
the
special
court
for
bail
after
his
plea
for
the
same
was
rejected
by
a
magistrate's
court
last
week
on
the
ground
that
it
did
not
have
the
jurisdiction
to
decide
the
matter.
On
Monday,
when
Aryan
Khan's
counsel
Amit
Desai
mentioned
the
bail
plea,
NCB's
advocates
A
M
Chimalkar
and
Advait
Sethna
sought
a
week's
time
to
respond
and
file
their
affidavit.
They
said
the
investigation
in
the
case
was
still
on
and
there
was
quite
a
lot
of
material
collected
by
the
agency
and
at
this
stage,
it
needs
to
be
seen
if
releasing
Aryan
Khan
on
bail
would
hamper
the
probe
into
the
case.
Desai,
however,
objected
to
it,
saying
a
person's
liberty
is
at
question
here,
and
argued
that
releasing
the
accused
on
bail
would
not
stop
the
investigation
in
the
case.
"The
bail
will
not
stop
the
investigation.
The
NCB
can
continue
their
probe.
That
is
their
duty.
But,
keeping
my
client
(Aryan
Khan)
in
custody,
especially
when
there
has
been
no
recovery
(of
drugs)
from
him,
is
not
required," Desai
said.
"He
(Aryan)
has
not
been
found
in
possession
of
any
narcotics
and
there
is
no
other
material
against
him.
Since
his
arrest,
he
has
been
in
the
custody
of
the
NCB
for
a
week
and
his
statement
was
recorded
twice.
Why
does
he
still
need
to
be
in
jail?"
the
senior
counsel
argued.
Chimalkar,
however,
said
that
the
agency
needs
at
least
a
few
days
time
to
file
its
reply.
"What
Desai
is
arguing
appears
to
be
rosy,
but
this
is
not
what
the
investigation
reveals
or
divulges.
Aryan
Khan
is
in
judicial
custody.
Whether
his
release
on
bail
will
affect
or
hamper
our
investigation
needs
to
be
seen," Chimalkar
said.
Sethna,
appearing
for
NCB,
told
the
court
that
there
was
no
extreme
urgency
for
the
bail
plea
to
be
heard
immediately.
Desai
then
sought
the
court
to
hear
and
decide
Aryan
Khan's
plea
separately,
saying
the
recovery
of
drugs
from
each
accused
in
the
case
was
different.
But,
Chimalkar
and
Sethna
opposed
it
and
said
the
conspiracy
is
the
same.
Apart
from
Aryan
Khan,
four
other
accused
in
the
case
-
Arbaaz
Merchant,
Munmun
Dhamecha,
Nupur
Sateja,
and
Mohak
Jaiswal
-
have
also
filed
bail
pleas
in
the
special
court.
The
court
said
it
would
start
hearing
Aryan
Khan's
bail
plea
on
Wednesday.
Aryan
Khan
has
been
charged
with
offences
under
Sections
8(c),
20(b),
27,
28,
29
and
35
of
the
NDPS
Act
pertaining
to
possession,
consumption
and
purchase
of
drugs.
The
NCB
has
so
far
arrested
20
people
in
the
case.