SSR death case: Special court grants bail to Rhea Chakraborty's brother Showik

Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty's brother Showik Chakraborty has been granted bail by the special NDPS court after spending nearly three months in jail. Narcotics Control Bureau(NCB) had been investigating the drug angle attached to actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death case. NCB had booked both Showik and his sister under Section 27 (A) of the NDPS ACT for harbouring an offender, i.e., not disclosing the fact that Rajput had been consuming drugs.

This is the latest significant development in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case since Rajput's live-in partner Rhea Chakraborty was granted bail by the Bombay High Court back in October. Rhea was granted bail nearly a month after her arrest.

Showik had applied for bail at the special NDPS court. His lawyers cited a recent Supreme Court ruling which said that the statements made during interrogation and confessions in front of the police would not be acceptable in court during the trial. This ruling applied to Showik as he was arrested on the basis of statements made by alleged drug peddlers under police custody and also his own confession to the police.

Showik had confessed that he and his sister used to procure drugs for Rajput. Showik's bail plea also mentioned that the NCB had not found any drugs at his residence thus making the offence bailable, according to reports.

Showik's bail plea read, "The Supreme Court, in its recent order rightly held that the officers who are invested with powers under section NDPS Act (pertaining to the current case) are police officers within the meaning of Section 25 of the Evidence Act. As a result, any confessional statement made to them cannot be taken into account in order to convict an accused under the NDPS Act."

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