On Sunday ( 22nd November 2020), Bharti Singh and husband Haarsh Limbachiya were remanded by a Mumbai court and were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) following the seizure of drugs from their house.
They have been sent to judicial custody till 4 December and their bail pleas will be heard by the court on Monday (23rd November 2020) by the magistrate's court.
The NCB arrested Bharti Singh on Saturday (21st November 2020) and her husband on Sunday morning following the seizure of ganja (cannabis) from their house in suburban Andheri.
On Sunday afternoon, the couple was produced before a magistrate court.
NCB prosecutor Atul Sarpande said, "The court has remanded both the accused to judicial custody till 4 December."
Bail pleas were filed by the couple through advocate Ayaz Khan soon after being remanded to judicial custody.
Harsh Limbachiya was taken in custody for questioning but did not seek Singh's custody and told the court that she may be sent to judicial custody.
The lawyer said that the alleged substance recovered is lesser than the ''small quantity'' as prescribed under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 and hence no question arose of custodial interrogation.
The arguments were accepted by the magistrate and noted that custodial interrogation was not required and that the accused have already been questioned for a considerable time on Saturday.
Singh and Limbachiyaa have been booked under sections 20(b)(ii)(A) (involves small quantity of drugs) and 8(c) (possession of drugs) and 27 (consumption of drugs) of the NDPS Act, 1985.
Khan said, "Under these sections, the punishment is six months to one year. This is not a case where the accused needs to be kept behind bars. I am surprised that the NCB is taking such an action of arrest in cases where the quantity (seized) is less than the prescribed small quantity. The NCB mandate is larger than this.”
Singh and Limbachiya said that they do not have any criminal antecedents and hence there is no question of them absconding in thier bail pleas.
Khan said that any statement alleged to have been made before the NCB or any of its officials is inadmissible pursuant to a recent judgment passed by the Supreme Court.
As part of its probe, the NCB on Saturday, acting on a tip-off, conducted search at Singh's office and residence as part of its probe into the alleged drug use in the entertainment industry.
Jail term up to six months and/or fine of Rs 10,000 is charged for possessing up to 1,000 gm of ganja which is considered small quantity, while a possession of commercial quantity 20 kg or more can attract up to 20 years in jail. For the quantity in between, the punishment can be as much as 10 years in jail.
According to the official, Bharti Singh''s name had cropped up during the interrogation of a drug peddler.
Bharti Singh has been a part of comedy and reality shows on TV and has also been a host in these shows.
