Aryan Khan booked under 4 sections of NDPS Act: What do they mean?

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan has been arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). Aryan, along with two others, was apprehended from the Empress ship off the coast of Mumbai on Sunday following a raid on a rave party.

Aryan has been arrested under Section 8(c), 20(b), 27 and 35 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (DPS), 1985.

Section 8(c) of NDPS Act

The section prohibits the production, manufacturing, possession, selling, purchase, transport, warehouse, use, consumption, inter-state import and export, import to and from India or tranship of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance, except for medical or scientific purposes, and requires a licence or permit by the concerned authorities.

Section 20(b) of NDPS Act

Under Section 20(b) of the NDPS Act possession of cannabis is a punishable offence.

Whoever, in contravention of any provisions of this Act or any rule or order made or condition of licence granted thereunder — cultivates any cannabis plant, or produces, manufactures, possesses, sells, purchases, transports, imports inter-State, exports inter-State or uses cannabis, shall be punishable. There will be rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years and will also be liable to a fine which may extend to Rs 1 lakh.

In case the possession is a small quantity, then the imprisonment involves a term which may extend to six months, or with a fine, which may extend to Rs 10,000, or with both. If the quantity is lesser than a commercial quantity but greater than a small quantity, the imprisonment may extend to ten years and with a fine which may extend to Rs 1 lakh.

If it involves commercial quantity, the imprisonment shall not be less than ten years but may extend to twenty years and shall also be liable to a fine which shall not be less than Rs 1 lakh and may extend to Rs 2 lakhs, provided that the court may, for reasons to be recorded in the judgment, impose a fine exceeding Rs 2 lakhs.

Section 27 of NDPS Act

Under Section 27, the consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance is a punishable offence.

Whoever consumes any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance shall be punishable— where the narcotic drug or psychotropic substance consumed is cocaine, morphine, diacetyl-morphine or any other narcotic drug or any psychotropic substance as may be specified on this behalf by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette, with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to Rs 20,000 or with both.

If the narcotic drug or psychotropic substance consumed is other than those specified in or under clause (a), the imprisonment may extend to six months, or with a fine which may extend to Rs10,000 or with both.

Section 35 of NDPS Act

Under this section,it is presumed that the accused knew what they were doing. Hence, the accused will be guilty unless proven innocent.

In any prosecution for an offence under this Act which requires a culpable mental state of the accused, the Court shall presume the existence of such mental state but it shall be a defence for the accused to prove the fact that he had no such mental state with respect to the act charged as an offence in that prosecution.

Under this section, “culpable mental state” includes intention, motive, knowledge of a fact, or reason to believe a fact.

However, none of the drugs seized in the case are of "commercial quantity" as specified in the NDPS Act, but they are more than "small quantity" and all fall in the "intermediate quantity" category.

Consumption of cocaine carries up to one year of imprisonment, whereas consumption of charas or cannabis carries up to 6 months imprisonment.