oppn parties Is It Fair To Keep Him In Custody?

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  • The Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre and the Election Commission on a petition challenging Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which grants the CEC and Election Commissioners protection from legal proceedings for acts performed in their official duties. The petition argues that such blanket immunity could leave citizens without an effective remedy for alleged wrongdoing by the Commission
  • The Supreme Court told voters whose names were deleted from Delhi's draft electoral rolls not to be apprehensive about seeking re-enrolment through Form 6, after the Election Commission assured it that such applicants would not be prosecuted merely because their names had appeared in earlier rolls
  • Congress leader Rahul Gandhi opened the party's campaign for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections with an Insaaf rally in Sangrur, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's home district, accusing the AAP government of failing to control drugs, gangster violence and corruption. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge outlined six commitments, including a drug-free Punjab, protection of farmers, employment for young people and action against corruption
  • Rahul Gandhi accused the AAP government of running Punjab through a remote control from Delhi and questioned Bhagwant Mann's ability to tackle drug abuse, making personal allegations about the Chief Minister's conduct during their time together in Parliament
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Is It Fair To Keep Him In Custody?

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-10-07 09:26:42

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

Is continued custody of Aryan Khan justified? As his custody ends today, it has been reported that the NCB will seek further custody as it needs to question him regarding links with drug peddlers. But is custodial interrogation really needed in such a case? Considering the fact that the NCB has already held him for a week, has questioned him continuously, alone and maybe with the others arrested with him and has gone through his mobile and noted the contents and further considering the fact that Khan has been cooperating in the investigation, there really is no need to keep him, as well as the others, in custody. The law is clear on this matter: if the accused is cooperating with the investigation, is not likely to abscond, tamper with evidence or threaten witnesses, bail must be granted.

No doubt possessing narcotic substances or having links with drug peddlers with the intention of buying drugs is a crime, Aryan is innocent till proven guilty. The only fact that he was present in the party where drugs were found does not automatically make him guilty. It is the job of NCB to prove his guilt. But for that, it does not need to keep him in custody indefinitely. If it is unable to complete the interrogation to its satisfaction in a week, it might not be able to do so in a month or three months. Further, since Aryan is cooperating, he should be given conditional bail and asked to further cooperate with the agency as and when required. If need be, his passport can be impounded if the court thinks that he might flee, although it is highly unlikely. But further incarceration would be unfair in this case and despite NCB plea, bail should be granted. NCB must stop the grandstanding in this case.