on October 3, Shahrukh Khanson of Aryan Khan, his close friend Arbaaz Merchant And munmun dhamecha was arrested by NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) after a drug raid on a cruise ship bound for Goa.
All the accused were arrested by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate R. presented before m nerlikari Today, 7 October at the end of his previous custody remand. The court sent him to judicial custody despite NCB seeking extension of his custody/remand till October 11.
In simple words, this means that the matter was initially in the hands of the NCB enforcing the NDPS Act (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act), who were given 24 hours to investigate the matter. They could not collect much evidence in the given time, which is why the remand was extended on October 4. Seeking remand court to send/repatriate the accused back to custody, (NCB here) for further investigation.
When the initial remand expired, the NCB asked for an extension based on the ease of investigation. However, once the accused were produced before the court, the judicial magistrate and the court were at liberty to decide whether to take up the matter or not. In this situation, the court ruled that the accused will no longer be in the hands of the NCB, but in judicial custody. If you are wondering what does it mean, it means that now the accused will be in jail and NCB can do further investigation only with the permission of the concerned magistrate, in this case, Mumbai Court. It can also be said that it is a little less stringent than police custody.
now, until Aryan Khan And other accused will get bail, they will be in jail. Had it not been after 7 pm after the hearing, it would have been the same today. It was Aryan’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde who told that it would be difficult to enter the jail after 7 pm without a Kovid test. As a result, the court agreed to send the accused to NCB custody for the night and to hear him on bail tomorrow at 12:30 pm.
However, before trying to bargain for Aryan not being sent to jail, lawyer Satish sought interim bail, which means the accused needs immediate bail – until the accused secures regular or anticipatory bail.
Bail is a petition asking the court not to put the accused in jail. During the court hearing today, Maneshinde made a strong case for bail saying, “Khan cannot be held hostage until they find the main accused. He argued, “Why should custody be given? As far as I’m concerned, there was no conflict. No drugs, nothing in my bag, nothing on my person, I didn’t tamper with the phone. Why would I not cooperate with the law? Also see the charges against me… Section 8(c), 27, 28, 29”.
Maneshinde also said, “If NCB hasn’t managed to find out any controversy so far, what are they going to do now? The humble submission is that they keep saying that they have to reach out to the ‘main accused’. He (Aryan) cannot be held hostage until they find the main accused. Rest of the accused, I am not concerned with this, so I will not make submissions about them,” concluded the lawyer.
As per the latest update, Maneshinde will apply for bail by following the procedures mentioned in CR PC (Code of Criminal Procedure 1973) in court tomorrow.
So, here’s a quick recap. The ‘custodial interrogation’ takes place when the accused were taken into custody by the NCB for questioning. ‘Judicial custody’ is a situation where the accused is sent to jail and NCB needs the permission of the court to investigate/interrogate him. ‘Interim Bail/Bail’ is when the accused is released from the Authority, allowed to go home, but has to cooperate with the Authority if needed during further investigation.
(With references and inputs from Advocate Vandana Shah and final year law students)
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