Rhea Chakraborty's bail plea rejected by Mumbai Sessions Court

Guwahati: After a local court in Mumbai rejected actor Rhea Chakraborty's bail plea on Friday, her lawyer said they would decide about moving the Bombay High Court next week.

Rhea Chakraborty was arrested earlier this week by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) over drugs charges linked to its probe into the Sushant Singh Rajput case.

The Mumbai special court today rejected the bail plea of Rhea, her brother Showik and other accused: Abdul Basit, Zaid Vilatra, Dipesh Sawant and Samuel Miranda. Both Rhea and her brother Showik have been booked under section 27A of the NDPS Act, which provides for punishment for financing illicit drugs and harbouring offenders.

Satish Maneshinde said that Rhea's counsel will decide next week on the course of action on approaching the high court after getting the order copy.

In her plea, Rhea had said that she was innocent and falsely implicated.  The defence raised the issue of applicability of charges of Section 27A of the NDPS Act against the Rhea and her brother.

'In Rhea's plea, the defence stated that the allegations would at the most make out a case of purchasing a small quantity of drugs, which is, in essence, a bailable offence. "There is not a shred of evidence to connect the applicant with financing any illicit traffic or harbouring any offender, and hence the ingredients of Section 27A of the NDPS Act are not made out in present facts and circumstances," it added.

The defence also alleged that even though the role attributed to Rhea and her brother Showik is identical to that of another accused, Kaizan Ebrahim, the NCB selectively invoked charges of Section 27A only against Rhea and Showik.

The defence pointed out that Ebrahim was released on provisional cash bail on the very first day of his remand by the magistrate court.

The prosecution, opposing the plea, claimed that all the persons accused are connected and each case cannot be looked at in isolation.

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