Cruise ship drugs case: Bombay HC to hear Aryan Khan's bail plea on October 26

The Bombay high court will on October 26 hear the bail application of Aryan Khan, who was arrested after seizure of drugs on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast following a raid by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on October 2.

Aryan, who is the son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, moved the high court on Wednesday evening after a special Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court rejected his bail application. Since his arrest, Khan's multiple bail applications have been rejected, first by sessions court and then by the NDPS court.

Satish Maneshinde, who represented Aryan Khan initially, mentioned the bail plea before a single bench of Justice N W Sambre, and sought urgent hearing on Friday.

However, additional solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the NCB, sought time till next week.

The NDPS special court, while rejecting Aryan's plea on Wednesday, observed that the 23-year-old was involved in "illicit drug activities on a regular basis" and had a nexus with drug peddlers and suppliers. On October 26, the Bombay high court will also hear the bail plea filed by Munmun Dhamecha, a co-accused in the drugs seizure case whose bail plea was also rejected by the special court on Wednesday.

On the other hand, lawyers of Arbaaz Merchant, another co-accused in the case, told news agency ANI that they too will move the high court after rejection of bail by the NDPS special court.

Earlier on Thursday, Shah Rukh met his son Aryan, who is lodged at the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai. Khan spent almost 20 minutes with his son.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, visitors are not allowed to have any physical contact with inmates and hence Shah Rukh met Aryan through a glass wall and communicated with him using an intercom.Earlier, the accused in the facility were not allowed to have visitors due to the pandemic but the restrictions were relaxed from Thursday, jail authorities told sources.