Mumbai:

Aryan Khan is a young man who should be sent to rehab rather than jail, and he has been wrongly arrested, former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said today as he argued his case for bail in the Bombay High Court.

The bail hearing will resume tomorrow afternoon, the High Court said. Aryan Khan, the son of superstar Shah Rukh Khan, has been in jail since October 8 after his arrest following drug raids by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on a cruise ship party.

Mukul Rohatgi argued that the case against Aryan Khan was based on old WhatsApp chats that were “irrelevant” and had nothing to do with the cruise on October 2. There was no recovery, no consumption and therefore “no need to arrest” him, said the senior lawyer.

Aryan Khan is “23 years old” and has completed his studies in California, said the lawyer. “Accused 1 was not a customer. He did not buy a ticket. He was invited to the cruise as a special guest… There is no consumption, no possession… Why this boy has been sent to 20 days in jail?” – Mr Rohatgi questioned.

“If you possess and consume a small quantity and are willing to go to rehab you are not liable for prosecution. Since there is no recovery and no consumption I submit I am wrongly arrested,” Mr Rohatgi said, adding that in the US and some parts of the world, cannabis is legal.

He also said the case had attracted the public and media gaze because of Aryan’s parents (Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan).

Aryan Khan has been denied bail twice before. The special anti-drugs court that denied him bail last week said he knew about charas hidden in his friend Arbaaz Merchant’s shoe, and this amounted to “conscious possession”. Arbaaz Merchant was also arrested along with Aryan and 18 others.

Mr Rohatgi questioned the court’s view, calling it far-fetched. “I have no control over what is found in Arbaaz’s shoe,” he said.

“There is no question of conscious possession. Arbaaz is not my servant, he is not in my control.”

He also referred to the special court saying Aryan Khan’s WhatsApp chats indicated “he is dealing in illicit drug activities” on a regular basis.

The NCB had alleged that these activities were revealed by WhatsApp chats between Aryan Khan and another accused, Aachit, who was arrested days after the ship raid. The chats were ostensibly on gaming but were code for drugs-related deals, the anti-drugs agency claimed.

The chats were on online poker, the lawyers for Aryan asserted. “There was nothing beyond communication about Poker,” said lawyer Amit Desai.

The bail hearing in the High Court will resume on Wednesday afternoon at 2.30 pm.