Who is Satish Maneshinde, the lawyer defending SRK's son Aryan Khan in drugs case?

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan on Sunday made headlines when he was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) following a raid on a rave party on a cruise-liner off the Mumbai coast. Khan Jr was not the only one in the NCB net - there were seven others who were detained along with the star kid.

Within hours, it was the turn of senior advocate Satish Maneshinde to be at the forefront of the star son's drama that was being played out on television and social media. One of India's most expensive criminal lawyers, the senior lawyer was roped in to represent the 23-year-old Khan in the matter.

Maneshinde is no stranger to Bollywood. In 1993, he represented Sanjay Dutt in the Bombay blast case and secured bail. He was also part of the legal team that later defended the actor in the Arms Act case in 2007 when he was charged for possessing illegal weapons.


Starting off as a junior lawyer under the tutelage of late Ram Jethmalani, one of the top legal minds in the country, Maneshinde worked as an apprentice to the former for almost a decade, handling many important cases including celebrities in B-town. He had already become popular amongst the celebrities by the time he took up Salman Khan's drunk driving case in 2002. The lawyer had successfully secured bail for Khan in the matter, who was later acquitted by the court.

After handling such delicate cases of stars, Maneshinde became everyone's go-to-lawyer in the country's high-profile circle. According to reports, the lawyer had also defended Khan in the 1998 black buck poaching case.

More recently, Maneshinde, who charges a hefty amount, was hired by actress Rhea Chakraborty in Sushant Singh Rajput's death case after the 'Kai Po Che' star's family accused Chakraborty of 'abetment to suicide'. Apart from this, the lawyer has also represented Rakhi Sawant in the past in an abetment to suicide case.

The NCB on Sunday busted a drugs party and arrested Aryan Khan and seven others, including two women in the matter. The agency seized 13 grams of cocaine, five grams of MD, 21 grams of hash and 22 pills of Ecstasy and Rs 1.33 lakh from the cruise.

A special holiday court on Sunday remanded Khan, Munmun Dhamecha and Arbaaz Merchant to the custody of the NCB till October 4. The agency has booked Khan under sections 27 (punishment for consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance), 8C (produce, manufacture, possess, sell or purchase of drugs) and other relevant provisions of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS).

Maneshinde, Khan's advocate, argued that his client was invited to the event being held on the cruise by the organisers. “No incriminating material has been recovered from him (Aryan Khan). There is no possession or evidence of consumption,” PTI quoted him as saying.