Mumbai, Oct 28 :In a major relief to Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan Today, the Bombay High Court granted bail to his son Aryan Khan after 26 days in custody in the Mumbai cruise drugs bust case. The 23-year-old, in all likelihood, could be back home on Friday or Saturday.

The court granted bail to Aryan along with Arbaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha after two hours of hearing on Thursday, when the Narcotics Control Bureau argued its case. This was after two days of marathon argument by the defence-led by former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi.

Justice Nitin Sambre, while granting the bail in his order said that detailed order will be delivered on Friday including the operative part.

Aryan who is presently lodge in Arthur road jail will be released only after court issues the detailed order, imposing certain conditions on him. In a related development, the defence urged the court to grant permission to submit “cash bail” to which court refused and said “surety has to be given”.

When an accused seeks for bail in court, court may ask him for a surety from other person. Purpose of surety is to make person responsible for the act of accused person after release. It is kind of an agreement for the responsibility of acts of accused person.

Rohatgi said Aryan is expected to walk out of the jail on Friday or Saturday.

On Thursday afternoon, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh appearing for the NCB said: “Aryan was found in possession of drugs. He was connected with drug peddlers. It was commercial quantity. Hence prosecution invoked section 28 and 29 and the arrest was legal.”

He also said that as per the apex court’s ruling drug menace is a more heinous crime than culpable homicide and has to be tackled stringently. He said the high court in one of its judgment had said “bail application under NDPS can be granted based on more than prima facie case. Bail is not a rule”.

Singh objected to the defence’s claim that the arrest was illegal. He said: “All legal formalities were completed before arresting the accused and as far conspiracy is concerned it is difficult to prove. Only the conspirator knows how they conspired.”

Arguing for over an hour, Singh also said that there is a “chance of tampering with evidence”, referring to witness Prabhakar Sail’s affidavit.

Senior Advocate Rohatg then rejoined the argument and said “their argument is that because it is not coincidence it is a conspiracy. Conspiracy can’t have anything to do with conjecture”.

He also said: “If there are people in a hotel in different rooms and they smoke, are all people in hotel in conspiracy? There is no material for calling it a conspiracy in this case.”

Following Aryan’s arrest on October 3, he was produced in a Mumbai local court. He was remanded in NCB custody until October 5.

Later, Aryan and others were sent to judicial custody for three days. While Aryan and Arbaz were sent to Arthur Road Jail, Munmun Dhamecha to Byculla.

The magistrate dismissed their bail saying it was not within the jurisdiction of the local court.

Aryan and others then filed a bail application in the sessions court and it reserved its verdict till October 8.

During his stay in the prison, Aryan on October 16, for the first time talked to his parents in jail for 10 minutes on video call.

Aryan also met a government-appointed psychologists and given suggestions to improve his future course.

Aryan’s case also took on a political turn as Maharashtra minister Nawab Malikaccused the investigating agencies of violating the law, bringing the entire operation under suspicion. The NCB refuted his claims “baseless and misleading” and misleading.

However, this week Mumbai Zonal Director of NCB Sameer Wankhede, who has been heading the investigation, himself is being probed on various charges related to the case.(UNI)