Acclaimed Actor’s Son’s Bail Plea Is ‘Not Maintainable,’ According to Court Following Drugs Case

Aryan Khan, the son of acclaimed Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, has been denied bail following his arrest for alleged drug infractions over the weekend. On Friday, a magistrate court rejected Khan’s bail request, arguing that the plea was “not maintainable.” The ruling came just a day after a magistrate court rejected the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) plea seeking further custody of all of those involved in the case, stating that granting the request would be a “violation of their fundamental rights,” The Indian Express reported. Instead, Metropolitan Magistrate R M Nerlikar sent the accused to 14-day judicial custody, with their interim bail applications being heard Friday.

During the Friday hearing, India’s NCB argued that granting Khan bail could negatively impact the case, which was sparked after authorities seized a large amount of drugs. NDTV reported the NCB argued Khan and the two others who had hearings Friday — Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha — could tamper with evidence and influence witnesses. The NCB also noted the three were “regular users of contraband.” Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh said, “had it been one person with small quantity, it would be different. We have a lot of material… protection like bail at this stage will hamper the investigation.”

The magistrate court ultimately rejected all three of the accused’s bail pleas, including Khan’s. The court rejected Khan’s plea on the bases that he is an influential person and may tamper with evidence, according to The Indian Express. Under the ruling, Khan and the two others will need to apply for bail before special NDPS court. Following the ruling, Khan’s lawyer, Satish Maneshinde, opposed the ruling. “Merely because [the] person belongs to [an] affluent family, it cannot be said that evidence will be tampered with,” he said. “What influence have I used? I am suffering for 6-7 days. People roaming free with much serious offences. I am not one of those.”

Khan was arrested by the NCB over the weekend during an extravagant party cruise off the coast of Mumbai. During a raid on the boat Saturday night, the NCB said they found 13 grams of cocaine, 21 grams of charas, 22 MDMA pills and 5 grams of MD. Following his arrest, Khan’s lawyer told reporters that Khan was arrested based only on text messages the authorities obtained. At this time, neither Khan nor his father, best known for Bollywood blockbusters like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Devdas and My Name Is Khan, have released public statements regarding the legal trouble.