Bombay HC Grants Rhea Chakraborty Passport Return, Relaxes Bail Terms in Sushant Singh Rajput Case

Rhea Chakraborty has received major relief from the Bombay High Court, which has reportedly directed the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to return her passport and permanently relax the bail conditions imposed during the Sushant Singh Rajput demise case.Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput passed away on June 14, 2020. The cause of his demise was revealed to be death by suicide. His demise sparked widespread debate and discussions on social media, leading to the case being transferred from Mumbai Police to the CBI. After a long investigation, the CBI submitted its report with no foul play suspected.Following this, a Mumbai court had issued a notice to Bollywood actor Rhea Chakraborty, seeking her response to the closure report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Sushant Singh Rajput demise case.Rhea was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau on September 8, 2020, along with her brother and others, on allegations of financing and procuring drugs for late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's consumption. She was later granted bail by the trial court, but with a strict condition: she should not leave the country without prior permission from the special judge.As reported by TOI’s city desk, the Bombay High Court recently relaxed Rhea Chakraborty’s bail conditions, allowing her to travel abroad with prior intimation to the investigation officers.Chakraborty’s lawyers contended that she is required to travel abroad for work and had to forgo assignments because of the delay in obtaining prior permission. They also said the chargesheet has already been submitted and pointed out that similar relaxation was granted to eight co-accused in the case.The prosecution objected, saying Chakraborty should not be given special treatment because she is a celebrity, and she may not return to the country. She is also a flight risk, prosecution alleged.The High Court, however, said that Rhea has cooperated with the trial till date and has not been found violating any bail conditions imposed on her and has always returned from abroad whenever she has travelled with permission from the trial court.The court instructed, "Before travelling abroad, the applicant shall inform the prosecuting agency and furnish her complete itinerary to them, at least four days before her departure. The itinerary must contain the details of her hotel and flights, which she intends to take. She is also directed to give her phone number to the prosecuting agency and keep her phone switched on at all times. She shall also intimate the prosecuting agency on her return to India," HC said.Disclaimer: The following news report is based on information from official sources and media reports at the time of publication. It concerns an ongoing investigation, and the details are subject to change as the case progresses. It is important to note that a summons or questioning by a law enforcement agency does not imply guilt or wrongdoing. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The purpose of this report is to provide factual information on the developments of a public interest matter.