‘Drugs on cruise’ case: Timeline
Following is the timeline of the ‘drugs on cruise’ case, in which Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, was given a clean chit by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday.
October 2, 2021: NCB team led by its Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede raids a cruise ship off the city coast late night. Aryan Khan and few others apprehended in connection with the seizure of banned drugs onboard.
October 3: NCB registers a case under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Mumum Dhamecha formally arrested and produced before a magistrate court, which remands them in one-day NCB custody.
October 4: NCB seeks their further custody saying it has found evidence linking the trio to international drug trafficking. Their custody extended till October 7.
October 7: NCB seeks another extension of remand of the trio, but its request denied. Aryan and other accused sent to judicial custody.
October 8: Aryan Khan moves for bail in magistrate court. But magistrate rejects the plea saying it is non-maintainable before court.
October 9: Accused moves special NDPS court for bail.
October 11: NDPS court asks NCB to file its reply on October 13.
October 14: Court hears arguments from both sides, where lawyers of Aryan Khan and other accused again plead for bail, saying the accused were falsely implicated in the case. The NCB opposes the petition.
October 20: Special NDPS court rejects Aryan Khan’s bail petition. The accused then move Bombay High Court.
October 21: Shah Rukh Khan visits Arthur Road Jail to meet son Aryan.
October 26: Bombay High Court begins hearing in case; arguments continue for three days.
October 28: High court grants bail to Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha.
October 29: Bail formalities and paperwork completed. Shah Rukh Khan’s actor-friend Juhi Chawla stands as surety for his 23-year-old son before special court.
October 30: Aryan Khan released from jail around 11 am.
May 27, 2022: NCB files charge-sheet in the case; gives clean chit to Aryan Khan and five others due to lack of “sufficient evidence”
