Mumbai: Hindi film actress Rhea Chakraborty has received major relief from the Bombay High Court in the Sushant Singh Rajput Death Case. The HC has directed the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to return the actress’s passport.
Refreshing your memory, Rhea was arrested in the drug case back in 2020 after the sudden demise of her then-boyfriend, Sushant. However, she was granted bail the following month with the condition that she submit her passport to the NCB.
Rhea recently filed a fresh application through her lawyer, Ayaz Khan, who argued that the condition to submit her passport led to delays in Rhea’s work, and she has even missed several projects owing to the lack of a passport.
The lawyer pointed out that Rhea has complied with all the conditions of her bail till now and never violated any court orders. Khan also stressed that given the nature of her work, she is often required to travel abroad for shooting, auditions, and even meetings.
However, NCB opposed Rhea’s petition, stating that being a celebrity should not entitle someone to any special privileges. They even warned of the risk of the accused fleeing.
However, Justice Neela Gokhale stated that the other accused in the case had also been given a similar relief. He further noted that Rhea had, in fact, cooperated during the trial, returned after every foreign trip, and had never violated the conditions of her bail.
The court has returned Rhea’s passport with the conditions that she must provide NCB with an active mobile number, appear before the trial court on each given date, and cooperate in the speedy disposal of the pending case.
In addition to this, Rhea must inform the prosecution agency before traveling abroad, and also provide them with her full travel itinerary at least four days before departure, including hotel and flight details of her intended travel.
She has also been instructed to provide her phone number to the prosecution agency and keep her phone switched on at all times, and to notify the agency upon her return to India.
