Sushant Singh Rajput death case: Mumbai court discharges Australian national from drugs case

A special court on Friday has allowed the discharge application of Paul Gerard Bartels, an Australian national in a drugs case linked to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Paul Bartels, a friend of Agisilaos Demetriades (the brother of actor Arjun Rampal’s partner Gabriella), was arrested on November 12, 2020. He has since become the first person to be discharged in the case, with all the other accused currently out on bail.

Special Judge Mahesh K. Jadhav observed that there is no legally admissible evidence to proceed against Bartels. He stated, "Considering the material on record and the fact that, apart from the statements of co-accused Agisilaos Demetriades and Nikhil Saldhana, there appears to be no other evidence linking the accused to the incident in question. There is also no concrete material to support the charge of conspiracy."

The lawyers argued that Agisilaos Demetriades' statement did not contain any incriminating material against the accused and noted that there was no financial transaction between the accused, Agisilaos, and co-accused Nikhil Saldanha. Accepting these submissions, the judge pointed out that Saldanha, in his statement, did not implicate the accused in any way.

The judge also noted that a second statement recorded later by Saldanha is legally inadmissible, as statements made by an accused and recorded under Section 67 of the NDPS Act cannot be used as confessional evidence in the trial of an offence under the same Act.

Additionally, the judge emphasized that when the investigating team conducted a house search, no contraband substances were recovered, and therefore, without such recovery, the statements of the co-accused could not be used in the trial.

Reportedly, the NCB named 35 accused in the case, including actor Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik Chakraborty, cook Dipesh Sawant, and house manager Samuel Miranda, all of whom are currently out on bail. Paul Bartels was arrested on November 12, 2020, on allegations of procuring and consuming contraband.