A conspiracy charge cannot be made against the accused, the court said (Representational)
There is no apparent evidence that the accused is a peddler and had supplied drugs to co-accused Arbaaz Merchant, a special court in Mumbai said while granting bail to an accused in the drugs-on-cruise case.
In the detailed order which became available today, the court said it cannot accept the Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) contention that accused Shivraj Harijan is a drug peddler and supplied drugs to Merchant.
The NCB had on October 3 arrested actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant, and others after raiding a cruise ship and allegedly recovering drugs.
Merchant and Aryan Khan were granted bail by the Bombay High Court on October 28.
VV Patil, special judge for cases related to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, on November 22 granted bail to Shivraj Harijan.
"Barring the statement of the accused under Section 67 of the NDPS Act, there is no prima facie evidence on record to show that the applicant was a supplier of the contraband," the order stated.
"Therefore, the contention of the prosecution cannot be accepted that the applicant is a peddler and he supplied contraband to accused no. 2 (Arbaaz Merchant)," it added.
Considering the material on record, it cannot be said that a prima facie conspiracy charge was made out against the accused, the order said.