Summary of this article
An NDPS court ordered to unfreeze bank accounts of Rhea Chakraborty, family
The freeze happened in 2020 during the investigation into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, in which a drug angle cropped in.
Chakraborty, Singh’s ex-girlfriend, received a clean chit from the CBI last year.
Big relief for actress Rhea Chakraborty in Sushant Singh Rajput's death case. A special court in Mumbai has permitted unfreezing of four bank accounts linked to actor Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik and mother Sandhya.
Rhea Chakraborty receives access to frozen bank accounts
According to reports, a special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court on Saturday (April 25) ordered that the bank accounts of Rhea and her brother, Showik, be defreezed. These accounts had been frozen in 2020 during an investigation by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) following the FIR registered in actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death case.
Why did the court said in its order
The court observed that the NCB did not comply with Section 68F of the NDPS Act within the required period.
"Sub-section (2) of Section 68F of the Act provides that an order of freezing or seizing the property shall have no effect unless such order is confirmed by an order of the competent authority within a period of 30 days of its being made," the court stated.
The court also noted that no such confirmation was obtained in this case, which makes freezing of the bank accounts invalid under the law.
About Rhea Chakraborty's frozen bank accounts
Some of the actress' accounts were defreezed in 2021, but the family filed fresh applications through to release funds in ICICI, Axis, and Kotak banks. They sought the defreezing of accounts that were mostly held jointly by various family members.
Chakraborty was arrested by the NCB on September 8, 2020, along with her brother and others, for allegedly procuring drugs for Sushant's consumption.
She was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in October 2020, on the condition that her passport would remain in NCB's custody. She received her passport back in October last year, after five years.
