A special court while denying bail to actor Armaan Kohli in a drugs case has relied on chats and messages brought on record by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and said that these show he is well-connected with his co-accused in illicit trafficking of drugs.
Special Judge under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act Dr. AA Joglekar said in his detailed order that the said chats if corroborated with the bank transactions match approximately with the figures held under transactions and therefore, that the factum of connivance cannot be negated prima-facie.
The court also said that Kohli has failed to explain the purpose of possessing such contraband recovered from his house as well as the financial transactions.
The NCB had allegedly recovered 1.2g of cocaine from his residence. His name was revealed by a co-accused in the case from whom drugs were recovered. A total of seven persons were arrested in the case. Kohli had claimed that pictures or videos are sent from the mobile of co-accused to him and are without his consent and hence he cannot be held responsible for them.
The court said about this argument, “On perusal of the said chats and messages it is evident that it is not the case that merely the said pictures or videos were sent to the applicant. On the contrary many times those were responded to by him.”
Judge Joglekar said that thus it is not the case that they were sent by the co-accused without his knowledge. The factum of connivance apparently can be drawn, it stated.
The order said,“Contents in the chats and videos also propagate for the indulgence of the applicant in illicit trafficking in prima-facie.”
Judge Joglekar said the probe is at a nascent stage and in light of the fact that there is prima facie corroborative material which shows his involvement in the commission of the crime, his enlargement on bail would “naturally amount to derail the momentum of the course of investigation.”
