If found guilty, the actor can spend a maximum of six months in jail.
After a 10-year legal battle, actor Fardeen Khan was charged with possessing 1 gram of cocaine by a special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act Court. He has pleaded not guilty for the charge.
The charge against Khan is minor and attracts a punishment of not more than six months in jail. He also has the option of applying for undergoing detoxification. If he does, he would be sent to a rehabilitation centre instead of serving a jail term.
Khan was arrested from Juhu on May 5, 2001, for allegedly buying the drug from a peddler. Two others were arrested with him.
Since his arrest in 2001, Khan has tried to prove that he was not part of a larger conspiracy and had only met his co-accused to buy 1 gram of cocaine for consumption.
The special NDPS court charged Khan under section 21 (A) of the NDPS Act, which carries a maximum punishment of six months and fine up to Rs10,000 or both.
Khan's two co-accused Nasir Karim Sheikh and Tony Hector Gomes were charged under section 21(B) of the Act for possessing non-commercial quantity of the contraband. The offence attracts imprisonment between one year and 10 years and a fine up to Rs1 lakh. Advocate Shekhar Bhandary, appearing for Sheikh and Gomes, said: "The prosecution will submit a list of documents and witnesses they will be relying on. The trial is likely to begin from November 2."
Khan's lawyer Ayaz Khan said they would not be filing an application for undergoing detoxification as yet. "The court has just framed charges against Fardeen today. He has to first undergo the detox and then an application can be made," he said.
An application can be filed on the basis of the medical certificate after having undergone detoxification. "But that is at a later stage," he added.
In January 2008, the NDPS court charged Khan for possessing 1 gram of cocaine (small quantity).
On June 6, 2006, the special court, considering Khan's statement and other evidence, had directed the actor to be tried for 9gm of cocaine, which is non-commercial quantity of contraband and attracts imprisonment up to 10 years.
Khan moved the Bombay High Court challenging the order and the high court had directed the trial court to reconsider its ruling.
The 2008 order was challenged by the Narcotics Control Bureau in the Bombay High Court but it was dismissed. Thus the special court framed charges for a small quantity.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}