Rhea Chakraborty granted bail by Bombay High Court

The Bombay HC on Wednesday granted bail to Chakraborty in a drug case related to actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. The court, however, rejected the bail plea of her brother, Showik Chakraborty. Rhea was arrested on September 8 by the Narcotics Control Bureau.

"She (Rhea Chakraborty) is not part of the chain of drug dealers. She has not forwarded the drugs allegedly procured by her to somebody else to earn monetary or other benefits," the Bombay High Court said in its order. The actor Rhea Chakraborty in an alleged drugs case related to the death of Sushant Singh Rajput. While Rhea was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh, the high court rejected the plea of her brother Showik and alleged drug peddler Abdel Basit Parihar.

Justice Sarang V Kotwal passed the orders said that that “(Rhea) is not part of the chain of drug dealers. She has not forwarded the drugs allegedly procured by her to somebody else to earn monetary or other benefits.” “Since she has no criminal antecedents, there are reasonable grounds for believing that she is not likely to commit any offence while on bail,” said the judge. Justice Kotwal also disagreed with NCB’s argument that celebrities and role models should be treated harshly so that it sets an example for the young generation and they do not get encouraged to commit such offences. The judge said, “I do not agree. Everybody is equal before the law.”

While rejecting Showik’s plea, the court noted that the applicant not only knew many drug dealers but was also in touch with them and was actually transacting with them. “At this stage, the investigating agency has sufficient material to show that he (Showik) is a part of a chain of drug dealers engaged in illicit traffic of drugs,” the order stated.

The bench also granted bail to Sushant Singh Rajput’s cook Dipesh Sawant and his domestic help Samuel Miranda on a personal bond of Rs. 50,000 each. They will have to be available for questioning whenever required and further conditions can be imposed for a limited period.