NCB notice to Karan Johar issued based on written complaint from ex-MLA

Karan Johar

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Thursday issued a noticed to filmmaker Karan Johar seeking details of the 2019 viral video where he is seen partying with top Bollywood celebrities, as part of their investigation in the drugs case. Sources from the NCB said that the notice had been issued based on a written complaint given by former MLA of Shiromani Akali Dal to NCB DG Rakesh Asthana in September this year.

The video, where Johar is seen celebrating along with celebrities like Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Malaika Arora, Arjun Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal and others, had gone viral in 2019 with people alleging that it was a drug party hosted by the filmmaker. The video surfaced on social media again recently, but the NCB had then refused to conduct an investigation in the matter.

The notice has been issued to Johar under section 67 b (required any person to produce or deliver any documents or think useful or relevant to the enquiry) of the NDPS Act. The NCB claims that they issued the notice to Johar seeking details about the authenticity of the video.

"We have received a complaint from a former MLA of Delhi about the video and we want to take the complaint to a logical conclusion. In order to get details regarding the video, we have sent a notice to Karan Johar. He need not be physically present, can send a representative instead," a senior NCB officer said.

The complaint given to NCB by former MLA of Shiromani Akali Dal Manjinder Singh Sirsa states, "This is to bring to your knowledge the instance in 2019 when during a party hosted at Karan Johar's house, drugs were used by other Bollywood stars. A video of that party was posted on social media. It sets ground for an investigation against the attendees under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, Indian Penal Code, and Information Technology Act, 2000."

However, senior lawyer Dr Sujoy Kantawala said, "This kind of an approach is a violation of somebody's constitutional rights. Partying and uploading videos on social media are a normal trend now. How can you assume that those who were partying were consuming drugs? This will be struck down by the court."

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