By MUMBAI: Bombay high court on Wednesday granted bail to Rhea Chakraborty but rejected her brother Showik’s bail plea in drug case being investigated by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
The HC refused bail to at least one more co-accused and alleged peddler, Abdel Basit Parihar, 23, while granting it to Samuel Miranda, house manager of the late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput and Dipesh Samant, Rajput’s personal staff.
The NCB had arrested all five, aside from 15 others during a case allegedly linked to a ‘drug angle’ into actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s untimely death on Flag Day.
Justice Sarang Kotwal, who pronounced the orders via video conferencing, declined a plea for a stay Rhea’s bail as sought by the NCB counsel Anil Singh.
The HC permitted Rhea to furnish a cash bail of Rs 1 lakh within a month and to furnish sureties within that point. She has got to regularly report back to the closest police headquarters and has got to surrender her passport. Justice Kotwal said he has imposed sufficiently stringent conditions on bail.
Significantly, Justice Kotwal held that each one offence under the Narcotic Drugs and S=Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) are non-bailable offences.
The NCB had arrested Rhea, 28, on September 8 and termed her an “active member of a drug syndicate’’ which it wants to “bust the drug citadel in Mumbai’’. The NCB invoked section 27A of the NDPS Act against Rhea and Showik, alleging that the siblings “financed the drug procurement’’ which Showik facilitated its delivery to Sushant.
The siblings’ advocate Satish Maneshinde in exhaustive submissions for bail had argued that even when NCB produced her for remand on a primary day it didn’t seek her custody and she or he has retracted her statement on September 8 itself.
Alleged peddler Abdel Parihar’s counsel Taraq Sayed had also argued extensively for his bail, saying nothing was seized from him. He had also argued that NCB’s premise of roping within the youth where small quantities, if in the least were alleged, for heinous charges meant for giant drug financing cartels, spell doom for society.
Additional lawman Anil Singh appearing for NCB had argued that the drug law is supposed to be a “deterrent’’ and seeks to punish all those that finance and help the drug habits of others. He had said Rhea and Showik “financed’’ Rajput’s drug fix, hence the stringent non-bailable offence of ‘financing illicit traffic and harbouring’’ under section 27A of NDPS Act was rightly invoked against them.
Maneshinde soon after the bail was granted said, “We are delighted by the order of the Bombay supreme court granting bail to Rhea Chakraborty. Truth and Justice have prevailed and ultimately the submissions on facts and law are accepted by Justice Sarang V Kotwal.’’
He added, “The arrest and custody of Rhea were totally unwarranted and beyond the reach of the law. The hounding and witch hunt by three central agencies, the CBI, ED and NCB of Rhea should come to an end. We remain committed to Truth. Satya Meva Jayate.’’
A special NDPS court had rejected bail pleas of the five on 9/11.
On October 6, a special court under the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act had extended
