In her bail plea, Rhea Chakraborty has alleged a witch-hunt by the drugs agency. (FILE)
The bail requests of actor Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik will be heard on Tuesday, the Bombay High Court said today, deferring the hearing as the NCB lawyer asked for time. The two were arrested earlier this month over drugs allegations linked to the Sushant Singh Rajput investigation and were sent to judicial custody till October 6.
Rhea Chakraborty was arrested on September 9 on drugs charges linked to the investigation into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput on June 14. She was described by the Narcotics Control Bureau as "an active member of a drug syndicate" and accused of organizing drugs for Sushant Singh Rajput.
Her lawyer Satish Maneshinde argued that the drug probe agency had no jurisdiction in the case, that it should be transferred to the CBI. "There are various issues in this case. You will have to address the court on points of law one by one," Justice SV Kotwal told the Narcotics Control Bureau while adjourning the hearing to next week.
Her bail was earlier rejected by a sessions court, which said she may tamper with evidence and try to alert those she has named during her questioning.
In her latest bail plea, the 28-year-old has alleged a witch-hunt by the Narcotics Control Bureau at the instance of three central agencies without any evidence. She also alleges that actor Sushant Singh Rajput, whom she dated in his final months, "took advantage of those closest to him to sustain his drug habit".
Sushant Singh Rajput's death, which the Mumbai police initially called a suicide, is being investigated by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate. The Narcotics Control Bureau entered the probe after WhatsApp chats on Rhea Chakraborty's phone revealed conversations involving drugs.
Rhea Chakraborty, in her bail plea, says it is clear that "Sushant Singh Rajput was the only consumer of drugs and that he was directing his staff members to procure his drugs".
Sushant Singh Rajput, she says, "used her, her brother Showik and members of his household staff to facilitate his own drug habit while ensuring that he did not leave a paper trail of his own in the form of any electronic evidence whatsoever". She adds that "it is unfortunate that Sushant Singh Rajput took advantage of those closest to him to sustain his drug habit and thought it fit to expose them to the perils that would entail".
It was clear from evidence that it was only Sushant Singh Rajput who took drugs and who was in the habit of using those around him to facilitate his drug habit, Rhea Chakraborty's 47-page bail plea says.
She also says "if the late actor were alive today, he would have been charged for the consumption of small quantities, which is a bailable offence having punishment of a term of imprisonment upto one year." It is "preposterous", she argues, that while the "consumer of drugs" would receive a maximum punishment of up to a year's jail, she would, having paid for the drugs on a few occasions, be subjected to up to 20 years in prison.
She also claims that Sushant Singh Rajput's ties with his family were strained and that his sisters left him at the "peak of his depression".