Defreeze bank accounts of actor Rhea Chakraborty and kin, says Mumbai court A special court for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) in Mumbai on Saturday ruled to defreeze several bank accounts belonging to actor Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, and their mother Sandhya. The court, presided over by Judge U C Deshmukh, determined that the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had failed to comply with mandatory procedural safeguards under the NDPS Act. The siblings are implicated in a drugs case linked to the 2020 death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The court’s order emphasized that Section 68F of the NDPS Act requires any freeze or seizure of property to be confirmed by a competent authority within 30 days of the initial order. Judge Deshmukh noted that the NCB had not followed this procedure, rendering the freeze invalid. The ruling allowed the Chakrabortys to operate their bank accounts in accordance with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations. The case revolves around the freezing of accounts held by Rhea, Showik, and Sandhya, including joint savings accounts at ICICI Bank, a personal savings account at Axis Bank, and a current account at Kotak Mahindra Bank. The Chakrabortys argued that the NCB’s actions violated statutory timelines, as no confirmation order was issued within the required 30-day window. They also highlighted that their accounts had been frozen in September 2020 following their arrests, despite no transactions occurring since 2019. In a separate plea, Rhea and Showik sought to remove the name of their company, Vividrage Rhealityx Pvt Ltd, from the Register of Companies. They claimed the bank had refused to process the closure of the corporate account due to the NCB’s freeze.#ncb #rhea_chakraborty #showik_chakraborty #sandhya_chakraborty #judge_u_c_deshmukh
Rhea Chakraborty's Frozen Bank Accounts Released In Sushant Singh Rajput Case A special court in Mumbai has ruled to defreeze several bank accounts belonging to actor Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik Chakraborty, and their mother Sandhya Chakraborty. The accounts, which had been frozen by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) since 2020, were released following a legal challenge by the family. The court determined that the NCB had failed to comply with procedural requirements under Section 68F of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, which mandates that freezing orders be confirmed by a Competent Authority within 30 days. The NCB had initially frozen the accounts in 2020 as part of its investigation into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who died on June 14, 2020. The bureau alleged that Rhea Chakraborty was connected to a drug network and had been in contact with drug peddlers. However, the court noted that the NCB did not provide evidence of such a confirmation process, rendering the freezing orders invalid. The ruling cited precedents from the High Court in the case of Jatinder (supra) and emphasized the necessity of adhering to legal procedures under the NDPS Act. The family’s plea, filed through advocates Ayaz Khan and Zehra Charania, focused on accounts held jointly by family members at ICICI, Axis, and Kotak banks. The applicants argued that the NCB’s failure to follow Section 68F made the continued freezing of the accounts unlawful. The prosecution, represented by Additional Public Prosecutor Geeta Nayyar, opposed the request, maintaining that the NCB’s actions were justified based on the investigation’s findings.#icici_bank #axis_bank #narcotics_control_bureau #rhea_chakraborty #sushant_singh_rajput
