On July 13, the Special NCB court in Mumbai directed the court registry to return Aryan Khan’s passport which was deposited with the Special court as one of his bail conditions in the drugs-on-cruise case last year.

Sandeep Kapur, who was part of the legal team put together by Shah Rukh Khan for Aryan, explains, “One of Aryan’s bail conditions was that he shall not leave the country without prior permission from the Special Judge for NDPS at Greater Mumbai.”

He added that the court has also allowed cancellation of the bail bond of Rs. 1 lakh signed by Juhi Chawla.

On May 27 – six months after he was arrested (and then released on bail 26 days later) – the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) gave a clean chit to Aryan in its chargesheet in the drugs-on-cruise case. The NCB told the Special court that Aryan is not an accused in the case and no investigations are pending against him. The agency added that no complaint was filed against six persons, including Aryan, as there is no evidence which could connect them to the case.

Kapur says, “The NCB reply on Wednesday means that this chapter is now closed for Aryan. The return of his passport and cancellation of the bail bond means that he is now free.”

A formal ‘discharge’ from the case, however, has not been pressed for by Aryan’s lawyers in the court, who say that the NCB’s clean chit and statement in court – that Aryan is not an accused – means that this chapter is over for him. “This is not a discharge application, but ultimately it is a discharge from the case only,” senior advocate Amit Desai reportedly said in court while appearing for Aryan.