A special court in Mumbai has ordered the lifting of the freeze on transactions in the bank accounts of actress Rhea Chakraborty and her brother, accused in a drugs case, citing non-compliance of procedures under the NDPS Act by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had frozen transactions in the accounts of the two as part of its investigation into the drug case related to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik’s lawyer Ayaz Khan argued that the NCB did not follow the mandatory procedural requirements under Section 68F (for seizure or freezing of property) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
The prosecution opposed the plea, citing Chakraborty’s alleged statements as evidence of her being an active member of a drug syndicate in contact with drug traffickers. The prosecution said freezing the account transactions was a necessary action taken by the investigating officer. However, special NDPS court judge UC Deshmukh on Saturday said that under Section 68F(2) of the NDPS Act, any order freezing or confiscating asset transactions must be confirmed by a competent authority within 30 days.
The court said that if no such confirmation is made, the order becomes legally invalid. The special court directed immediate lifting of the freeze on transactions in the bank accounts and allowed both to operate them as per RBI rules and regulations. Since the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, NCB has been investigating alleged drug use in Bollywood and television industry. Actor Sushant Singh Rajput (34) was found hanging in his apartment in Mumbai’s Bandra area on June 14, 2020.