Published 15:03 IST, September 23rd 2020
Rhea Chakraborty doubles back after cracking at NCB in bail plea to HC; claims 'no crime'
Rhea Chakraborty, in her bail plea to the Bombay High Court, has claimed that she is innocent and that she has been subjected to a 'witch-hunt' by the NCB.
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Actor Rhea Chakraborty has moved the Bombay High Court on Wednesday after her bail plea was rejected in the special NDPS court on Tuesday and an extension of another 14 days of custody until October 6 was granted to her. In her petition to the High court, Rhea, through her lawyer Satish Maneshinde, has claimed innocence in the drug case for which she has been arrested and stated that she "has not committed any crime whatsoever".
Rhea has also stated in her plea that the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is deliberately trying to invoke strict charges against her and her family adding that she has been subjected to a "witch-hunt" by the NCB and three other investigative agencies including the Mumbai Police, Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Further, Rhea, the prime accused in the case officially registered by the CBI, also said in her bail plea that the judicial custody has taken a "severe toll on her mental health and well being" and that any further extension is likely to worsen her mental health.
Her bail plea was scheduled to be heard by a single bench presided over by Justice Sarang Kotwal on Wednesday. However, since the High Court suspended the day's hearings owing to heavy rains in the city, the plea is likely to be heard on Thursday.
Chakraborty further said in her plea that late actor Sushant Singh Rajput had been in the habit of consuming drugs, particularly, "ganja" since even before she got into a relationship with him. While she would sometimes procure drugs for him in "small quantities", and would also "occasionally pay for them herself," she was in no way a part of any drug syndicate. Chakraborty has been booked by the NCB on several charges, including financing illicit trafficking of drugs under Section 27-A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act.
The actor said she has been wrongly booked under the NDPS Act Section 27-A which puts a bar on granting bail to the accused by claiming that no drugs were seized from her possession. Chakraborty said some others accused in the case had faced identical allegations, but they had not been booked under the stringent Section 27-A. She also said that at best, she can be accused of having procured drugs in small amounts for her boyfriend. However, she was trying her best to wean Rajput off his habit of consuming drugs, the actress said.
Besides, if Rajput was alive today, he would have been charged merely for the consumption of drugs and would have invited a maximum sentence of just one year, while she has been charged under sections imposing a maximum sentence of up to 20 years, Chakraborty said in the plea. On a similar argument last week on the other pleas, Justice Kotwal pointed out that the NDPS Act adopts an "empathetic approach" towards the drug addict with a view towards his rehabilitation.
However, the Act aims at ending all illicit trafficking of drugs and therefore, carries stringent punishment for those involved in the procurement, financing, and production of drugs. Earlier this month, a special NDPS court in the city rejected the bail pleas of the actress and her brother Showik Chakraborty, saying if let out on bail, they might tamper with the evidence. The actor is currently lodged in the Byculla women's prison in the city. The bail plea hearing on Tuesday resulted in a setback for Rhea, her brother Showik and the others as the special NDPS court extended their judicial custody for 14 days till October 6.
This comes after Rhea Chakraborty had cracked before the NCB's questioning after earlier claiming that she had never used drugs, and doubling back on her submission from even before that wherein she had allegedly admitted to drug peddling charges.
(With PTI inputs)
15:03 IST, September 23rd 2020