Fardeen Khan gets reprieve from Bombay high court

In a major reprieve to actor Fardeen Khan, the Bombay high court on Wednesday ruled that he should be charged with attempt to purchase one gram of cocaine and not nine.

The high court dismissed a petition filed by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) challenging a sessions court order of 2008 granting Khan discharge from possession of nine grams of cocaine.

This means Khan, if found guilty, faces maximum punishment of six months’ imprisonment and a fine. If he were to be tried for attempting to buy nine grams, a conviction under the charge could have attracted a punishment of up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

Arguing for the NCB, additional public prosecutor Poornima Kantharia told the court that when Khan was arrested outside an ATM in Juhu on May 5, 2001, nine grams of cocaine was recovered from his car. Fardeen had allegedly tried to buy the drug from a peddler, Nasir Abdul Karim, who is also facing trial.

Khan’s counsel Mahesh Jethmalani and advocate Ayaz Khan, however, countered the argument saying that the ATM receipt of the withdrawal made by Khan showed that he had withdrawn Rs4,000 which would be enough to buy only one gram of the drug. The statements given by Khan and the co-accused also indicated that he wanted to buy the said amount.

Observing that the prosecution could not put forth any evidence to show that Khan attempted to by nine grams of cocaine, Justice JH Bhatia dismissed the NCB’s petition.