Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan is lodged at Arthur Road prison in connection with drug-related offences. He was arrested after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raided the cruise rave party on October 2. He has been charged under various sections of the NDPS Act.
What is the law?
Under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, production, cultivation, possession, sale, use, purchase, import and export, and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances are all listed as crimes in India.
For the sake of clarity, narcotic substances are sleep-inducing drugs, which are natural or made from natural substances, for example, charas, ganja, opium, heroin, cocaine and morphine etc. come under this category. Psychotropic substances are drugs affecting the brain, which are chemical-based or which are prepared by mixing two or three types of chemicals like LSD, MMDA or Alprazolam, among others.
While some of these are necessary for medical needs or other work, they have to be closely monitored, and this is why the NDPS Act matters. To control the use of substances, lest people may become addicted.
Why arrest Aryan?
Aryan Khan’s former lawyer Satish Maneshinde said that no drugs have been seized from him. The NCB is also yet to say anything regarding the recovery of drugs that were in Aryan’s possession. The question that now arises is if Aryan was not in possession of any drugs, why NCB has remanded his custody?
While he was not found in possession of drugs, Aryan Khan has been charged with the consumption of drugs. This is a crime under the NDPS Act.
When it comes to punishments for drug-related crimes, the quantum is dependent on the quantity is involved in the commission of the offence. NCB says that it has seized 13 grams of cocaine, five grams of MD, 21 grams of charas, 22 intoxicants and cash worth Rs 1.33 lakh after the raid.
However, it was not Aryan, but his friend, Arbaaz Merchant who was found in possession of five grams of charas in his shoes. In the case of possession, the law mandates that possession and sale of charas and other drugs including cocaine, heroin, opium and morphine in small quantity is punishable under the NDPS Act with a maximum of one year of “rigorous imprisonment” or a fine up to Rs 10,000 or both. Five grams of charas found in Merchant’s possession is considered a “small quantity”. In fact, for charas, any quantity less than 100 grams is considered “small”.
Possession vs. consumption
When it comes to Aryan, assuming that it is only the “consumption” that he’s charged with, the law then has to look at it from a different perspective.
As per the law, consumption of drugs in case of cocaine, morphine, heroin, warrants “rigorous imprisonment” up to one year or fine up to Rs 20,000, or both. In the case of other drugs including charas, the punishment includes imprisonment up to six months or a fine up to Rs 10,000 or both. The NCB has said that Aryan could have been consuming drugs for more than the past four years. He himself has admitted consuming drugs in the past, over the course of interrogation.
And now comes the loophole in the law. If Aryan is classified as an addict, he could be granted immunity, under the provisions of the NDPS Act. The law categorically states that “addicts volunteering for treatment enjoy immunity from prosecution.” However, this immunity could be withdrawn if the addict does not undertake complete treatment.
It now remains to be seen how much the NCB is able to prove the possession of drugs in Aryan’s case, and also whether his legal team would be able to establish that addiction and consequent immunity from punishment.
Senior Advocate Amit Desai, representing Aryan Khan has said in the court today that Aryan has suffered enough and that he is not a peddler. “They are some young kids. In many countries these substances are legal. Let us not penalise in bail. Let us not make it worse for them. They have suffered enough, they have learnt their lesson, if at all. They are not peddlers, racketeers or traffickers.”
The question now is whether the law would see it that way.
