Aryan Khan case: WhatsApp chat not proof enough, says special court

Mumbai, November 1

A special court here while granting bail to Aachit Kumar last week in the drugs-on-cruise case said that merely on the basis of WhatsApp chats, it cannot be gathered that he had supplied drugs to co-accused Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, and Arbaaz Merchant.

The court, in its detailed order, a copy of which was made available on Sunday, also raised questions on the veracity of the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) “panchnama” records said they were fabricated and seemed suspicious.

‘Panchnama fabricated’

The panchnama is fabricated and was not prepared on the spot. Therefore, the recovery (of drugs) shown under the panchnama is suspicious and cannot be relied upon. —Special court

Special Judge VV Patil, designated to hear cases related to the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, granted bail to 22-year-old Kumar on Saturday.

The court, in its order, observed that except for the WhatsApp chats with Aryan Khan, there was no evidence to show Kumar was indulging in such activities.

“Merely on the basis of WhatsApp chats, it cannot be gathered that the applicant (Kumar) used to supply contraband to accused No 1 and 2 (Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant), especially when the accused No 1, with whom there are WhatsApp chats, has been granted bail by the HC,” the order said.

Aryan and Merchant, who were arrested in the cruise drugs case on October 3, were granted bail by the Bombay HC last Thursday.

The special court also noted that there was no evidence against Kumar to connect him with any of the other accused in the case. “There is no evidence on record showing that the applicant (Kumar) supplied drugs to accused No 1 (Aryan Khan) or to anybody and therefore, the applicant is entitled to be released on bail,” the order said. — PTI