A special NDPS court on April 25 ordered the defreezing of several bank accounts belonging to actress Rhea Chakraborty, her brother and mother, ruling that the Narcotics Control Bureau failed to comply with mandatory procedural safeguards. Rhea and brother Showik are booked in a drugs case which was investigated after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June 2020.
Under section 68F(2) of the NDPS Act, an order of freezing or seizing the property does not have effect unless such order is confirmed by an order of the competent authority within a period of 30 days of its being made. In Rhea’s case, no such confirmation was made. The court, therefore, said that the holders of the bank accounts are permitted to operate them as per RBI rules and regulations.