Aryan Khan was arrested earlier this month by the NCB.
WhatsApp conversations between friends can often appear suspicious given the kind of language young people use today, Aryan Khan's lawyer Amit Desai told the court on Thursday during a hearing in the drugs-on-cruise case.
"Please bear in mind one other reality. Today's generation have a means of communication, which is English... not the Queen's English.. it's sometimes what the older generation will call a torture. The way they communicate is very different," he said.
"Conversions on chats can often be misunderstood. WhatsApp chats are supposed to be private conversations. But I am told there are no messages or conversations on the mobile about the rave party," Mr Desai said.
"There is always a possibility that casual conversations between friends on WhatsApp may appear suspicious," he added.
The arguments came during a bail hearing for Aryan Khan that began on Wednesday at a Mumbai sessions court. It is the third since his arrest almost two weeks ago in the Mumbai drugs-on-cruise case in which WhatsApp chats have been cited as key evidence.
Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan - Accused No. 1 for the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) - allegedly "indulged in illicit drug trafficking", and was in touch with "some persons abroad who appear to be a part of an International Drug Network" to procure a "bulk quantity of hard drugs", the anti-narcotics agency said in a statement to the court, opposing his bail.
The NCB on Thursday told the court that "evidence showed" Aryan Khan frequently took banned substances; Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, representing the central agency, also referred to on-record statements to claim that Aryan Khan has been consuming drugs for the last few years.