Actor Armaan Kohli, arrested over drug charges, gets bail
India Today
The court said that if the actor is found to be involved in a similar offence again, the prosecution will be at liberty to move for the cancellation of bail.
Actor Armaan Kohli, in jail since he was arrested by the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) for possession of 1.2 grams of cocaine in August 2021, has been granted bail by the Bombay High Court. The bench of Justice Nitin Sambre granted bail on surety of Rs 1 lakh.
The court said that if Kohli is found to be involved in a similar offence again, the prosecution will be at liberty to move for the cancellation of bail. Advocate Shreeram Shirsat, appearing for the NCB, also asked the court to direct Kohli to mark his attendance at the NCB office. This was allowed by Justice Sambre, who asked the actor to be present at the south Mumbai office of the agency once every month.
The agency had charged Kohli with financing the drug trade. Advocates Taraq Sayad and Abhishek Yende, appearing for Kohli, said that Kohli consumed drugs but did not deal. So he cannot be charged under the stringent sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act.
Israel Sam, a Nigerian national, was arrested by the NCB with 55 grams of Mephedrone - which is considered as a commercial quantity, and there are several calls and messages that the agency recovered from Kohli’s phone which mentioned that he was in regular touch with him.
Also Read: | Actor Armaan Kohli in jail for a year; seeks bail
Sayad argued that the prosecution’s entire case is based on phone records. However, Sayad said that the seizure panchanama that showed phones were seized from the accused - Kohli or Sam.
According to the prosecution, Sam used four phones and they were all sent to the forensic lab. Even Kohli’s phone was taken over by the investigators.
