Mumbai: Accused Rhea Chakraborty, who is currently in judicial custody at Byculla jail, has stated in her bail petition that the probe by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the drug nexus case is illegal.
According to a Times of India report, Rhea’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde mentioned in the bail plea on Thursday that the offence committed by his client is bailable as no drugs were found in her possession.
He also stated that the serious offence of “financing illicit traffic and harbouring” under section 27A of the NDPS Act must be read to relate only to commercial, and not small quantities of drugs.
Maneshinde also sought the transfer of the case from NCB to CBI.
“Based on the Supreme Court judgement transferring the (death) case to CBI, all future cases should also go to the CBI,” he said.
“Under a 1988 gazette, CBI is empowered to investigate drug cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS). Thus, the investigation carried out till now is illegal,” he added.
The Bombay High Court will be hearing the case next on September 29.
The court has asked additional solicitor general Anil Singh, representing NCB, as well as the petitioners’ lawyers to present detailed explanation on the law during the next hearing.
