Bombay High Court hints at dropping drugs case against actress Mamta Kulkarni

Mumbai: Citing a lack of evidence, the Bombay High Court has hinted that it may cancel a first information report (FIR) against actor Mamta Kulkarni in a drugs haul case dating back to 2016, a lawyer said on Thursday.

A Division bench consisting of Justice Bharti Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande, which is yet to issue a detailed order, hinted that Kulkarni’s plea to quash the case may be allowed.

The actress claimed before the court that she was "made a scapegoat in the drug scam” which was unearthed by the Anti-Narcotics Cell of the Thane police on April 12, 2016, with the seizure of drugs worth Rs 80 lakh.

In the FIR, the actress has been named as an accused, along with 10 others.

The court was hearing Kulkarni's plea, filed through Advocate Madhav Thorat, in which she argued that the allegations against her were "solely based on the statements of co-accused" and that "there is no evidence” against her.

Thorat contended that if there were allegations of her involvement in a conspiracy, there should have been some bank transactions indicating her participation, which even the prosecution acknowledged were absent.

Additionally, Thorat argued that while some statements of the accused were inadmissible, others were hearsay.

According to the prosecution, Kulkarni had attended a meeting which was part of a conspiracy to supply drugs in the international market.