The Narcotics Bureau has been given an additional 60 days to file a charge sheet in the Aryan Khan drugging case
* Paromita Das
A special court on Thursday granted the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) a 60-day extension to file a chargesheet in the drugs case involving Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
The investigation agency had filed an application before special judge V V Patil on Monday, requesting a 90-day extension to file a charge sheet in the case because the investigation into the high-profile case was still ongoing.
However, after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defense lawyers, the judge granted the investigation agency an additional 60 days to file a chargesheet in the case.
The NCB had argued, via a special public prosecutor, that there were “compelling reasons” to seek the extension.
The NCB named Aryan Khan, along with 19 others, as an accused in the case last year.
The NCB apprehended the 24-year-old on October 3, last year, following a raid on a cruise ship off the coast of Mumbai. The accused were charged under various sections of the Narcotics, Drugs, and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, including alleged possession, consumption, sale/purchase of prohibited drugs, conspiracy, and abetment.
According to the investigation agency, chemical examination reports for all 17 samples were received on March 12, proving that the entire contraband recovered during the raid was narcotics/psychotropic drugs.
According to the central investigation agency, some of the accused are highly influential people who have had incriminating conversations with foreign nationals who are also located outside of India. It stated that an investigation into such chats is underway because foreign nationals are involved.
The response from foreign agencies has been delayed due to the severe COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country from November 2021 to February 2022, according to the plea.
In its plea for more time to file a chargesheet, the NCB claimed that the investigation into the six accused was nearly complete because their roles were intertwined and interconnected.
The examination and recording of voluntary statements of K P Gosavi, the main panch witness, during the two recoveries on October 2, 2021, is incomplete because he is under judicial custody in other cases, according to the statement.
The NCB also stated that the second panch witness, Prabhakar Sail, has become hostile and that his alleged affidavit in this regard is still pending before the court. Examining Gosavi becomes necessary and pivotal in such a situation to unearth the true and correct facts of this case.
Only two of the 20 arrested suspects in the case, Abdul Kadar and Chinedu Igwe, are currently in judicial custody, with the rest free on bail.
In response to the probe agency’s plea, Kadar’s lawyer, Kushal Mor, claimed that the application was filed solely to keep him behind bars. Furthermore, he contended that there was no “justifiable reason” for requesting the extension.
In his appearance on behalf of Igwe, advocate Ayaz Khan stated that they were “handicapped” due to the prosecution’s failure to submit a report to the court.
“My freedom of expression is jeopardised,” he added.
The drug enforcement agency was required by the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to file the chargesheet in the October 2021 case within 180 days of the accused’s arrest. If the chargesheet is not filed within the time frame specified, the accused may seek default bail under the provisions of the CrPC.
If a prosecuting agency needs more time, the CrPC allows it to request a maximum extension of 90 days to file such a document.
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