The old saying “when it rains it pours” seems to be ringing loud in one Bollywood house.
Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan was dealt another blow on Wednesday when his bail application hearing was adjourned to Thursday, leaving the 23-year-old in jail for another night.
The court will resume the hearing on Thursday as additional solicitor general (ASG) Anil Kumar Singh, counsel for India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), could not finish his argument by 5.30pm on Wednesday and sought to resume his argument on Thursday at 12pm.
Aryan Khan was arrested last weekend by the NCB on charges of consumption, sale, and purchase of narcotic drugs after a rave party aboard a luxury cruise liner.
Khan and seven others were taken into custody by the NCB.
Khan, Munmun Dhamecha and Arbaaz Merchant were initially arrested. The trio appeared before the Esplanade Magistrate’s Court amid tight security late on Sunday and was kept in the NCB's custody for a day.
Khan has been charged under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
Mumbai Magistrate's Court on Friday said that Khan's bail plea was "not maintainable", therefore denying him bail and agreeing with the NCB that since drugs were seized, a Sessions Court must hear the matter.
In its reply to the bail application, the NCB said its primary interrogation had revealed that Khan was part of a bigger chain notwithstanding the fact that he was not in possession of any drug at the time of the raid.
The NCB said the agency was not concerned over one person but that the bail of one person could hamper the investigation, reported the Hindustan Times.
Senior advocate Amit Desai argued for Khan, saying that he was not even on the cruise when the agency raided the rave party.
He was apprehended on his way to the party, and he and Merchant were stopped at the gate of the party by NCB officials and were asked whether they were carrying drugs. No drug was found on Khan while Merchant was in possession of 6g of charas.
Khan's lawyer also said that they were not pedlars, racketeers or traffickers.
The ASG told the Special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Court that they had to approach the Ministry of External Affairs (Mea) to trace the foreign drug pedlar who was found in Khan’s WhatsApp conversations.
"Hard drugs, bulk. Can't be for personal consumption. We have approached the Mea to find how we can find this foreign national,” the ASG told the court.
*This is a developing story.