The Bombay High Court on Thursday said it will hear actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan's bail plea in the case of the busting of a drug racket on a cruise on October 2 on October 26.
Mr. Khan has filed an appeal before the High Court against rejection of his bail by a special Narcotics Drugs Psychotropic Substances Act court on October 20.
The matter was mentioned before a single bench of justice Nitin Sambre by advocate Satish Maneshinde appearing for Mr. Khan.
The special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act court extended the judicial custody Mr. Aryan, his friend and co-accused Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha till October 30.
Mr. Aryan Khan was arrested on October 3 and is currently lodged at the Arthur Road Jail along with his friend and co-accused Arbaaz Merchant.
The special judge V.V. Patil held, “Whatsapp chats prima facie reveal that Aryan Khan is dealing in illicit drug activities of narcotics substances on a regular basis. Therefore, it cannot be said he is not likely to commit a similar offence while on bail.”
The order read, “Perusal of papers shows that though nothing was found in possession of accused no. 1 (Aryan Khan), 6 grams of charas was found with accused no. 2 (Arbaaz Merchant) that was concealed in his shoes. Admittedly, they have been friends for a long time. They travelled together and they were apprehended together at an international cruise terminal. Further, in their voluntary statements, both of them disclosed that they were possessing the said substances for their consumption and enjoyment. Thus, all these things go to show that accused no. 1 was having knowledge of the contraband concealed by accused no. 2 in his shoes.”
Shah Rukh Khan meets son in Mumbai jail
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on Thursday met his son Aryan Khan at the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai where the latter has been lodged following his arrest in a case of seizure of drugs on board a cruise ship off the city coast, an official said.
The actor reached the prison located in Mumbai Central around 9 a.m. and left at 9.35 a.m., the official said.
The prison authorities checked the actor's Aadhaar card and other documents before he entered the premises, officials said.
After the verification of documents, a token was given to him by prison officials, following which he was allowed to meet his son, who is lodged in the jail's general cell as an undertrial.
Shah Rukh Khan met his son for about 15 to 20 minutes, a prison official said, adding that there was a glass fencing between them and they spoke on the intercom. Four guards were present along with them during their conversation, he said.
The actor was allowed to meet his son, as per the prison manual, like any other family member of a prisoner and no special treatment was given to him, the official said.
A large number of mediapersons and local residents had gathered outside the prison when the actor arrived. Heavy police security was also deployed outside the jail premises.
Till now, family members of the prisoners were not being allowed to visit the jail in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The prison authorities started allowing the family members of prisoners to visit them from Thursday morning, the official said.
( With inputs from PTI )
