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.
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