An Indian court on Friday denied bail to Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan’s 23-year-old son Aryan Khan after his arrest in a cruise ship drug raid.
Mr Khan and seven other people were arrested on Sunday after undercover Narcotics Control Bureau officers raided and recovered drugs from cruise ship Cordelia while it sailed from Mumbai to Goa.
The Mumbai court on Thursday refused to extend his custody to NCB, saying “that would amount to violation of fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution” and remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days.
It also adjourned the interim bail petition by a day but on Friday denied Mr Khan relief after prosecution argued that the appeal was not maintainable before the magistrate's court.
“Heard, considered, decisions cited, applications are not maintainable hence rejected,” Judge R M Nerlikar ordered at the end of the nearly six-hour hearing.
The Bollywood megastar’s son will be transferred to Mumbai’s high security Arthur Jail before his lawyers can make another attempt to free him on bail.
Mr Khan has pleaded innocent and denied charges that he consumed or possessed drugs or had links with drug traffickers, saying that he was invited on to the luxury cruise-liner as a guest by one of the accused.
The bureau initially accused Mr Khan of sale, consumption and purchase of banned narcotics but during the hearing prosecution admitted that no banned substances were found on him.
However, the prosecution argued that they recovered incriminating WhatsApp chats from his mobile phone that linked him with what they claimed was an international nexus of drug peddlers and traffickers.
Mr Khan’s lawyer, Satish Manshinde, has reiterated that the alleged WhatsApp conversations did not “indicate any drug trafficking”.
Mr Khan’s father, Shah Rukh Khan, 55, is one of the biggest film stars in India and has remained a largely uncontroversial figure in his three decades of public life.
He has not made any public statement on his son’s arrest, and did not attend the hearings amid a raft of slanderous claims about the star family on social media.
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)
Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)
Saturday
Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Sunday
Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)
Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)
Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
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- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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Soldier F
“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.
“Somebody later said to me, 'you just watch - they'll drop the charge against him'. And sure enough, the charges against Soldier F would go on to be dropped.
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The five pillars of Islam
Surianah's top five jazz artists
Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.
Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.
Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.