That the Narcotics Control Bureau gave a clean chit to Aryan Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case on May 27 has severely damaged the agency’s image. Aryan, the son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, had spent 26 days in jail last year. And though there has been a course correction—charges against six persons have been dropped—accountability, or the lack of it, is the elephant in the room.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly advised law enforcement agencies to understand the distinction between having the powers to arrest someone and using them. Law enforcement agencies can only rush to arrest someone if there is reasonable evidence to believe that the accused would obstruct the regular course of collecting further evidence, is a habitual offender who may commit a similar offence or would abscond. On the other hand, if police officers are abusing the powers of arrest, they should be held accountable, too.
Though there has been a course correction—charges against six persons have been dropped— accountability, or the lack of it, is the elephant in the room.
The NCB, in its internal inquiry, has chastised its own unit for procedural and investigation lapses that left many in the bureau red-faced. Indian Revenue Service officer Sameer Wankhede was heading the NCB’s Mumbai unit when it arrested several people in the case, including Aryan. In the internal report, which THE WEEK has seen, the NCB found the evidence collected “questionable, motivated and judicially weak”. Reads the report: “Though there were 20 accused in this case, for some reason or the other, the investigation revolved around Aryan Khan.”
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Angry, Young America
Campus protests against the Gaza war continue to linger as students demand a realignment of US ties with Israel
We need to engage more with communities
Designer Aratrik Dev Varman of the label Tilla has long been a lover of history. One could comfortably call him part-aesthete, part-archeologist, for his clothes dip into vintage styles of the Kutch, Sindh, Balochistan and Afghanistan, bringing alive antique styles and crafts. Tilla, the store and atelier, are situated on a tree-lined avenue in Ahmedabad.
The great luxury slowdown
A year or so ago, if anyone had told me that Tommy Hilfiger would have stolen the show at New York’s Met Gala, I would have laughed. But it seems the end of giant luxury labels is upon us even before we expected it. The American ready-to-wear designer Tommy Hilfiger seems to have created the maximum media buzz at the 2024 Met Gala, according to several data analytics firms.
RAP BRINGS RAPTURE
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Employability issues are a narrative created by the corporate world
Prof Yogesh Singh is the 23rd vice chancellor of the century-old University of Delhi (DU). An engineer with a PhD in computer engineering, Singh has an impressive track record of teaching, innovation and research in the area of software engineering. He has more than 250 publications and his book, Software Testing, published by the Cambridge University Press, is well-received internationally. In an interview with THE WEEK, Singh talks about trends in higher education in India, the challenges faced by big universities, and how to make higher education more interesting. Asked about the perception that Indian graduates are “not employable”, he reacts strongly, and emphasises the difference between training and higher education. Edited excerpts:
SERVING WITH DISTINCTION
Conceived as a university like no other, Jawaharlal Nehru University became India's best. Here is how
Mandela Effect and Liar's Dividend
The complex tapestry of AI's impact on society
The other Sabyasachi
I am Sabyasachi Mukherjee, not to be confused with my namesake, the celebrated fashion couturier, declared the venerated director-general of Mumbai’s pride, George Wittet’s Indo-Saracenic jewel, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum.
THE MANGO HUNTERS
'Naadan Maavukal' started out as a Facebook group, but what it does offline has helped conserve many indigenous varieties of mangoes
BJP LEADERS, TOO, HAVE HAD ENOUGH
Farmers’ protest has taken the centre stage in Haryana, which goes to the polls on May 25. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is confident that the Congress, which has been out of power for 10 years, will regain its hold on the state. “People who voted for the BJP are disappointed today. It is clear that they want change,” he told THE WEEK.
