Court orders defreezing of Rhea's bank account

A special NDPS court in Mumbai has ordered the defreezing of a bank account linked to actress Rhea Chakraborty and her mother Sandhya Chakraborty, holding that the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) failed to comply with mandatory provisions under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Special Judge U.C. Deshmukh, in an order passed on April 25, allowed the application seeking defreezing of ICICI Bank and permitted its operation in accordance with RBI rules.

The applicants had contended that the freezing of the account was illegal as the Central agency did not follow the provisions of Section 68F of the NDPS Act, which governs seizure or freezing of property suspected to be illegally acquired.

The prosecution opposed the plea, claiming that statements recorded during investigation showed that Rhea Chakraborty was an active member of a drug syndicate and had links with alleged drug peddlers, and therefore the freezing of the bank accounts was justified.

However, the court recorded that Section 68F(2) clearly provides that an order freezing or seizing property ceases to have effect unless it is confirmed by the competent authority within 30 days.

“There is no dispute that the subject matter bank account has been freeze by the officer of the respondent. The respondent does not deny that there is no compliance of Sub-section (2) of Section 68F of the Act,” the order said.

It added that no confirmation order, as required under the NDPS Act, had been passed and therefore the continuation of the freeze could not be sustained in law.

Relying on a previous ruling of the Bombay High Court, the court said powers to freeze property are not unregulated and must be exercised strictly in accordance with statutory safeguards.

The court consequently directed that the account be defreezed and the account holders be allowed to operate it as per applicable banking regulations.

The case arises out of the 2020 NCB investigation linked to alleged drug-related activities following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Earlier, the Bombay High Court had granted Rhea Chakraborty relief by directing the return of her passport, observing that there was no sufficient reason to apprehend that she would evade legal proceedings.