In addition to the Aryan Khan case, the special investigation team of the Narcotics Control Bureau in Delhi is in the process of finalising its report in five other cases handed over to it by NCB chief S.N. Pradhan.
The Central anti-narcotics agency has been gripped by controversy over the shoddy handling of cases by its zonal unit in Mumbai under Sameer Wankhede. The SIT in Delhi was asked to step in after questions were raised about the credibility of NCB's investigations in these cases. The SIT is likely to submit its findings on six main points of investigation that deal with possession of drugs, criminal conspiracy, digital evidence, foreign linkages, consumption of drugs and likely consumption of drugs under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
The biggest of the cases is the Aryan Khan drug haul case where the son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan was arrested and accused of consumption and conspiracy among other charges. Sources told THE WEEK that certain procedural requirements were not followed in investigating the case and these are likely to be highlighted in the final report.
According to sources, first, no drug was found in Aryan Khan's possession and therefore there is likelihood that the WhatsApp chat evidence against him in the case does not hold any value in investigation. Second, the conspiracy charge was added later and was not part of the arrest memo, sources said.
Third, there was no evidence coming forth of a foreign link to the drug haul case against Aryan Khan, who was facing accusations of harbouring and financing drug traffickers. The evidence at hand and legality of the information does not stand to establish foreign linkages, according to sources. Last, the NDPS Act does not give the agency the authority to keep a person in jail because it feels he can consume drugs if set free. With many of the initial charges seeming to be on a sticky wicket, the case can crumble to a shadow of its original. But it is still wait and watch as the SIT has denied finalising its report.
As media reports emerged that the SIT has not found any evidence of either Aryan Khan possessing drugs or his involvement in any drug syndicate, Sanjay Singh, deputy director general of NCB, said, “investigation is not complete yet and it is premature to say anything at this stage”.
But that does not close the lid on the lapses by the NCB's zonal unit in Mumbai. The Aryan Khan drug haul case seems to have become a monkey on the back for the NCB, which is finding it hard either to deny or accept the procedural lapses in the case. The NCB is aware that the methods of investigation being employed by the federal agency need to be very transparent and firm, which is why an SIT was constituted to look into the barrage of allegations and counter-allegations.
The Bombay High Court, while giving bail to Aryan Khan on October 28 last year, also said there was no evidence to suggest existence of any “conspiracy” and the same is likely to be reiterated by the SIT when it completes its probe.
Among the other high-profile cases under scrutiny of the SIT is the case against actor Rhea Chakraborty, arrested in 2020 on the basis of WhatsApp chats found on her phone. While the NCB has filed a charge-sheet against the actress and 32 other individuals, the issue of consumption of drugs by Rhea herself remains a sticky point.
Section 27 (A) of the NDPS Act deals with harbouring and financing drug traffickers and cannot be applicable in any and every case. Moreover, the quantity recovered in any case needs to be more than the minimum quantity and the evidence based on WhatsApp chats can prove insufficient if it isn't corroborated by other evidence. Moreover, any evidence retrieved from electronic storage media like SIM cards, hard disk drives and pen drives is admissible subject to fulfilling the conditions under Section 65A and 65B of the Evidence Act as held by the Supreme Court. In the coming days, the outcome of the SIT probe will decide the course correction to be taken by the NCB's various units while handling cases under the stringent NDPS Act.
