Fardeen loses passport in US, not to appear in drug case

Actor Fardeen Khan on Monday intimated a special court in Mumbai that he would not appear for the hearing in a drugs case on Tuesday as he is currently in the United States and has lost his passport a few days earlier.

"Fardeen has lost his passport in the United States and I have informed the court about it as Tuesday is the date for his case," the actor's advocate Ayaz Khan said.

"It will just take some time for him to return, but the court has to be informed," he added.

The actor was caught buying cocaine from a peddler named Nasir Shaikh on May 5, 2001, by the Narcotics Control Bureau.

Ayaz Khan also said that currently, the court is hearing arguments on the framing of the charges. While Fardeen has pleaded that he wanted to buy one gram of cocaine from the drug peddler at the time of his arrest in 2001, the charge sheet filed by the NCB alleged that nine grams of cocaine was seized from the duo.