Almost 11 years after he was arrested in a drug abuse case, Bollywood star Fardeen Khan was Wednesday granted immunity from prosecution in the matter by a Mumbai court.
“This means that prosecution against Fardeen in the case, in which he was charged for possessing a small quantity of cocaine, is withdrawn and all charges framed against him are also withdrawn,” Khan’s lawyer Ayaz Khan told IANS.
Khan added that Sessions Judge G. Sanap’s decision was subject to a detoxification process which the actor has already undergone.
“He (Fardeen) is now a reformed man. He has undergone the detoxification process completely. He has been granted one more opportunity as permissible under the law,” Khan said.
However, Judge Sanap has warned that if Fardeen is arrested for a similar offence again in the future, the immunity he enjoys would be withdrawn.
On May 5, 2001, Fardeen created headlines after he was arrested from the posh Juhu area of north-west Mumbai for possession of cocaine, which he had allegedly bought from a dealer, Nasir Shaikh.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCP) which nabbed Fardeen, Shaikh and another dealer, Tony Gomes, framed charges against them under the dreaded Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act.
While the NCB accused Fardeen of possessing nine gm of cocaine, the actor claimed he had only one gm with him.
Last October (2011), charges were framed against Fardeen even as he filed an application under the NDPS Act Section 64(a) seeking that the charges against him be dropped.
The court accepted the application and Fardeen was granted immunity from prosecution Wednesday while prosecution against the other two accused would continue, Khan said.