[Sushant Singh Rajput case] Bombay High Court refuses anticipatory bail to NDPS accused Sahil Shah

The Bombay High Court recently refused to grant anticipatory bail to Sahil Shah an accused in one of the cases under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act being probed by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in connection with the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput..Justice PD Naik observed that WhatsApp messages, statement of arrested accused and the investigation conducted reveal Shah's complicity in the crime."This is not a fit case to exercise the powers under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to grant anticipatory bail to the Applicant. Hence, no case is made out to grant relief in the Application," Justice Naik said rejecting Shah's application..Shah is accused of offences punishable under Sections 8(c), 27, 27A, 28, 29 and 30 of the NDPS Act. The offences include consuming and financing drugs and harbouring offenders. During their interception of co-accused Ganesh Shere and Sidharth Amin, NCB seized 310 grams of marijuana and suspected that the contraband was supplied by Shah.Apprehending arrest before the Sessions Court, Shah moved the Special NDPS Court, Mumbai. However, the Court refused to grant protection through an order of April 23, 2021. Aggrieved by the order, Shah approached the High Court..Advocates PS Malhi and Amandeep Singh, appearing for Shah, submitted that there was no cogent evidence to show Shah's involvement the crime. "The contraband which was allegedly recovered was from the co-accused was of small quantity. The WhatsApp chat relied upon by the prosecution does not establish involvement of the applicant," they stated. They also submitted that Shah was never issued any summons by NCB up until he approached the Court seeking anticipatory bail. In any case, the lawyers argued, Shah had never been issued summons in any other case being investigated by NCB..Advocate Shreeram Shirsat, appearing for NCB, submitted that there was strong evidence to show Shah's complicity in the crime. "The whatsapp message collected by the Investigating Agency shows the involvement of the Applicant in the present case as well as his involvement in drug trafficking in the past," Shirsat submitted.He also pointed out that Shah's name was also disclosed in the other two complaints registered with NCB pertaining to the offences under NDPS Act in connection the death of Rajput.NCB opposed Shah's application stating that Shah was never available for interrogation and had been avoiding arrest..Upon hearing submissions of the parties and examining the documents, Justice Naik rejected Shah's application.[Read Order]