‘Bail Is Rule, Jail Is Exception’. But Not For Aryan Khan.

If it is ensured that the accused shall be available for the required judicial proceedings, there is no point in detaining the accused.

While dictating the order in interim bail granted to TV anchor Arnab Goswami in 2018 abetment of suicide case, Justice DY Chandrachud had cited the rule established by Justice Krishna Iyer.

“Bail is rule, jail is an exception”.

What does it mean?

“A person is not guilty until proven”, which ensures that a person who is not guilty should not be detained. There are certain rules regarding granting the bail, for that the court follows the doctrine of “bail is a rule, jail is an exception” subject to certain conditions, according to LegalEra.

The Supreme Court of India, in a landmark judgement of State of Rajasthan vs. Balchand alias Baliya, laid the legal doctrine “bail is a rule, jail is an exception”. Justice V. Krishna Aiyer laid this legal doctrine safeguarding a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, granting the right to life and liberty.

The purpose of any detention is to make the accused available for the judicial proceeding, to avoid any unnecessary delays in case the accused flees away. If it is ensured that the accused shall be available for the required judicial proceedings, there is no point in detaining the accused.

Justice Chandrachud on bail

Justice Chandrachud, while dictating the order in Arnab Goswami case, stressed on importance of bail. “The remedy of bail is a solemn expression of humaneness of our criminal justice system. This case is for countless other cases where such voices should not go unheard,” Justice Chandrachud said.

Have voices been heard in Aryan Khan case?

Aryan Khan still in jail

Picked up from a cruise party last Sunday by the NCB in its “drug bust”, actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan spent this weekend in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail. A Mumbai magistrate’s court said Friday that Mr Khan’s bail plea was “not maintainable”, agreeing with the Narcotics Control Bureau that since drugs were seized, a Sessions Court must hear the matter.

Aryan Khan did not get bail today for the third time since his arrest. His bail request will now be heard on Wednesday after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) gives its statement to the court.

Neither intoxicated nor in possesion

The NCB on Monday, the very next day after the cruise arrests, had told the court that no drugs were found on Aryan Khan. The investigating officer (IO), while seeking Aryan Khan’s further custody, admitted that no illegal drugs were recovered from Aryan Khan.

The NCB sleuths said that they seized 13 grams of cocaine, 5 grams of MD, 21 grams of charas, 22 pills of MDMA (ecstasy) and Rs 1.33 lakh in cash from the accused. For a “massive drugs bust” that was claimed by the NCB and contemporary media, the amount of drugs found are too little. Many rightly pointed out that there’ve been no answers on 3000 kg heroine seized from the Mundra port in Gujarat.

Aryan has been charged for consumption, although niether was he in possesion of drugs and nor was he intoxicated at the time of the raid. He is also accused of being in constant touch with someone who procured drugs, with the NCB attaching his chats that show his connection to an alleged drug syndicate.

Moreover, deviating from the norms, which is generally seen when rave parties are busted, the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) did not take blood and urine samples of the accused.

At least, that’s what Aryan Khan’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde said in court.

Maneshinde, while making his submissions, told the Magistrate court that Aryan had offered that his blood test be done but the NCB officials did not do it.

Legal experts say that had NCB tested Aryan and if his reports showed negative, then they would have had to discharge Aryan from the case immediately.

What NCB said?

Arguing against Aryan’s bail, the NCB said releasing Aryan Khan could harm the case. The agency claimed he could tamper with evidence and influence witnesses. It also insisted Aryan Khan and the others were “regular users of contraband”.

“They are influential persons… is a chance of tampering with evidence. Had it been one person with small quantity, it would be different. We have a lot of material… protection like bail at this stage will hamper the investigation,” Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh said.

Allegations against NCB

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Minister in Maharashtra Cabinet, Nawab Malik, on Saturday raised serious allegations against the anti-narcotics agency. Mr Malik claimed that total of 11 people were arrested from the cruise party. “However, three people were let go. One of them is Rishab Sachdeva. He’s said to be a brother-in-law of BJP leader Mohit Bharatiya. Other two were Pratik Gaba and Amir Furniturewala,” Mr Malik claimed.

Mr Malik also claimed that Pratik Gaba and Amir Furniturewala invited Aryan Khan to the cruise party.

The NCP leader had earlier made headlines for explosive revelations after he presented photos and videos to show that a local BJP leader and another history sheeter who is absconding in a cheating case in Pune were involved in the raid.

“The NCB raid is fake. Their target was Shah Rukh Khan. The raid is a conspiracy. The three who were let go had invited Aryan Khan. This is only a publicity stunt. This was a set up to defame,” Mr Malik claimed.

Bail is rule, jail is an exception

According to the legal doctrine laid by Justice Krishna Iyer, as explained earlier, the purpose of any detention is to make the accused available for the judicial proceeding, to avoid any unnecessary delays in case the accused flees away. If it is ensured that the accused shall be available for the required judicial proceedings, there is no point in detaining the accused.

In this case, Aryan’s Lawyer Satish Maneshinde had told the court that he is a 23-year-old with no prior antecedents.

“I am a 23-year-old with no prior antecedents. I happen to be from Bollywood. I went on an invitation, refused when asked if I have drugs. They were honest not to accuse me of anything else. Data from my mobile has been retrieved and sent for forensics,” said lawyer representing Aryan Khan.

“I have parents and a family here. I have an Indian passport and I am not going to abscond. There is no question of tampering,” lawyer Satish Maneshinde said.

Despite this, Aryan Khan continues to remain in jail and will remain there at least till Wednesday. The legal doctrine laid by Justice Iyer has not been followed in this case.

Does ‘bail is rule and jail is exception’ not apply in Aryan Khan’s case?

Systematic targeting?

Is Shah Rukh Khan being targeted for not toeing the government line, as claimed by Nawab Malik? Is our system conspiring against the star to make the process his punishment? The bollywood actor has been incessantly targeted after his son’s arrest, with one educational app pulling down his advertisements, while others demanding a ‘boycott’ of the products he endorses. There’s been constant character assassination of the 23-year-old Aryan Khan, not because he’s a dreaded criminal, but because he comes from a family that is widely popular.

Is Aryan Khan being punished for having a famous father? Or is he really someone who’s been addicted to drugs and needs help to get out of it? In either cases, jail is not a place where he should be.