Aryan Khan files affidavit in Bombay HC; says have no role in NCP Vs NCB fight

Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan on Tuesday submitted an affidavit in the Bombay High Court in which he distanced himself from any of the allegations doing the rounds against the Narcotics Control Bureau. The affidavit mentions that Aryan said that he had nothing to do with the allegations and counter-allegations that are currently on public and social media between NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede and certain "political personalities". 

Aryan goes on to say that he is not making any allegations against any individual in the prosecution department. The affidavit, filed moments before Aryan's bail plea in the cruise ship drug bust case, said that he has no connection or concerns about the claims made by independent witnesses. To note, former Attorney General for India Mukul Rohatgi is representing Aryan. The affidavit reiterated that Aryan did not consume any drugs and that there is no evidence of any recovery from him at the time when he arrived at the Mumbai cruise terminal.

To recall, both the Magistrate and Sessions courts had rejected bail for Aryan who was arrested on October 3 by the Narcotics Control Bureau after a midnight raid on a party onboard a cruise ship that was en route to Goa. At the Magistrate court, Advocate Satish Maneshinde had appeared for Aryan while in the Sessions court senior counsel Amit Desai was the lead counsel along with Maneshinde.

In his petition before the Bombay High Court, Aryan said that the Narcotics Control Bureau had misinterpreted his WhatsApp conversations to implicate him in the cruise ship drug case and accuse him of conspiracy under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. He has also contended that just because he is influential, it cannot be presumed that there is a likelihood of him tampering with evidence.

Shah Rukh Khan had on October 21 visited the prison to meet his son. Jail authorities said that the accused were initially not allowed to have visitors due to Covid-19 restrictions. However, the restrictions were later eased and now two family members of an inmate are allowed to visit. Also arrested along with Aryan were his childhood friend Arbaaz Merchant and fashion model Munmun Dhamecha.