Cruise drugs case | ‘Will open Pandora’s box’: NCB requests dismissal of independent witness's affidavit

Independent witness Sonu Mhaske claimed in an affidavit that he was forced to sign a blank panchanama by NCB officials probing the case. His application to get the same on record in court has been opposed by the NCB.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has opposed the intervention of an independent witness in the Mumbai cruise drugs case, in which actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan was one of the accused.

When Aryan Khan's friend Aachit Kumar's bail application was being heard, Sonu Mhaske, an independent witness, had come forward claiming that he was threatened to sign on a blank panchnama (record of witness testimony). Mhaske worked in a residential apartment in the upmarket Powai area, where Kumar lives.

Vishwanath Tiwari, an intelligence officer of the NCB, filed a reply stating that Mhaske's application praying that his affidavit dated Nov 24, 2021 should be taken on record, is "misconceived and ill-conceived".

The reply further states that Mhaske "has not made out any case for grant of such relief. Further, the contents of the Miscellaneous Application are opposed in totality."Tiwari also stated that the contents of Mhaske's affidavit files through advocate Ajay Bhise "are completely false, mischievous and misleading with a malicious attempt to malign and tarnish the image of an independent agency like the NCB, which is conducting investigation within the four corners of law."

READ | Cruise drugs case: Prabhakar Sail questioned by NCB’s vigilance team for 2nd day straightThe three page reply states that the investigation of the case is still in progress and complaint is yet to be filed. “Thus, the relevance of Mhaske’s affidavit will arise at the time of trial and not at this primary juncture when the investigation is at an initial stage and is going. Thus, such prayer, if allowed, would cause grave prejudice to the on-going investigation," it said.Tiwari has gone on to tell the special court under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act that it "ought not to hold a mini trial at this stage."The affidavit stated that there is no substance in Mhaske's contentions that he was forced under threat to sign on the panchnama. "Such application would tantamount to interfere with an ongoing investigation [and] ought to be rejected; else this will open a Pandora's box flooding this court with such applications which are neither tenable nor entertainable," said Tiwari's reply.Tiwari explained that Mhaske was issued summons under section 67 of the NDPS Act after the case was taken over by Special Investigation Team (SIT) of NCB New Delhi. However, he has not appeared before the SIT.

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"Mhaske is one of the independent witnesses in the case and his voluntary statement has to be recorded in the said case. Non-attending NCB office is only a ploy to not cooperate and cause hurdles in the ongoing investigation. It is not the choice of Mhaske to not attend the office of the agency but is an obligation in law which ought not to be avoided on such grounds. If such application is allowed, it will have far reaching ramifications and will set adverse precedents for other matters," claimed Tiwari.The officer asked for dismissal of Mhaske's application with costs and prayed that he should be directed to appear before the SIT in response to the summons issued to him.