Mumbai: Aryan Khan had to spend one more night in a jail barrack on Friday. The bail amount and conditions for him, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha were common. He will be released Saturday morning, said his lawyer. Within an hour of the HC order being uploaded, at around 4.30 pm, Juhi Chawla, a co-star of his father in some films, arrived at sessions court to stand as surety for Aryan. Dressed in a white salwar with bluish grey duppata, her eyes twinkling despite a black mask as she obliged court staff with selfies, she signed the Rs. 1 lakh bond for the bail.

After her arrival, Khan’s legal team had apparently an hour’s window before it could submit the release order-—to be placed in a sealed cover—at the drop box outside Arthur Road jail. Aryan, whose bail formalities from the sessions court end then got completed, missed the jail ‘deadline’ of 5.30 pm. His lawyer Satish Maneshinde said, “In view of the system and procedural lacuna, he will have to spend one more night in jail.”

“There is a procedural lacuna in our system that even though we got the HC bail order 3.30 pm and though we are in the electronic age, we have to follow the archaic system of taking the physical copy from HC to the special NDPS court, where the designated judge, after examining the authenticated copy, accepts the surety and his or her solvency certificate if any, issued by a tehsildar,” said Maneshinde.

Khan’s team had come prepared with Chawla’s solvency certificate to show she was solvent for Rs 1 lakh. The judge accepted her as surety.

Following his order granting bail, Justice Nitin Sambre on Friday set out 14 stringent bail conditions including immediate surrender of passport, a weekly three-hour attendance at the NCB office, no statements to media, the requirement to join in the investigation when called upon to do so and not to delay the trial once it starts. Following Covid protocols, after verifying Chawla’s identity and other documents, cops posted outside gate number six of sessions court permitted her to enter the premises.

Accompanied by lawyers from Aryan’s legal team, she made her way to the special NDPS court No 44 on the first floor. Introducing Chawla to court, Maneshinde said she has been professionally associated with Shah Rukh Khan and knows Aryan since he was born. Chawla stood in the witness box. Special judge V V Patil, who had last week rejected Aryan’s bail plea, asked her for her name and who she was appearing for. “Juhi Chawla Mehta,” the actor said.

The court verified her documents that included her Aadhar card and passport. Chawla then made her way to the third floor where further formalities were completed in the registrar’s office. She was made to sign certain documents. A huge crowd of litigants, lawyers and court staff gathered outside the office to catch a glimpse. Lawyers of other litigants waiting for their formalities to be completed expressed their displeasure. Chawla then went back to the courtroom. The court registry prepared the bail bond after seeing the special court’s acceptance of her surety.

The papers are sent to the special judge to append his signature on the bond, after which the document is sealed with the court’s seal and thereafter, the packet containing the order in a sealed cover is sent to the jailor, said Maneshinde. The norm followed in Maharashtra is that a jailor accepts the court paper for release on bail, only via a drop box placed outside the prison, which is opened at regular intervals four times a day: at 7 am, midday, 3.30 pm and last at 5.30 pm, Maneshinde said. But the jail manual requires all inmates to be sent inside barracks at 6 pm and barracks are sealed and locked, he said. Headcount of inmates starts at 5 pm inside the barracks. Chawla left the court a little after 6 pm.

The order of bail, meanwhile, said the trio cannot tamper with the probe, cannot indulge in any similar activities on the basis of which the case was registered under the NDPS Act and cannot try to establish communication with co-accused or any other person involved in similar activities as alleged. If they violate any of the 14 terms, NCB shall be entitled to apply to special court for cancellation of bail.

In the age of electronic communication, and with Digital India one of the priorities of the central government, it is time legal and prison-related procedures were revised in such a way as to accept electronic files by securing data so that the sanctity of a bail verdict is retained and an accused does not have to spend a single night more in jail when s/he has already been granted bail by a court. Courts have more than once pronounced that liberty is precious, so even a day extra spent behind bars is too much.

Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan and two others accused in the drugs-on-cruise case spent one more day in jail pending paper work and will be released today. In the forthcoming winter session of the state legislature, senior minister Nawab Malik has assured he will expose the Opposition’s involvement in the case.

Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan and others accused in the drugs-on-cruise case spent one more day in the prison pending paper work. The jail officials confirmed they had not received the release memo by Friday evening and hence the accused had to spend another day and will be released today morning after the prison department receives the release memo. Actor Juhi Chawla signed the surety for Aryan as she knows him from his childhood and has professionally associated with SRK for long.

The Bombay High Court granted bail to Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha on Thursday. The operative part of the order released on Friday, the detailed order of the court is yet awaited. 

It will be interesting to know as to what are the grounds on which bail was granted to Aryan and others. The operative part which came on Friday mentioned certain conditions for Aryan Khan, based on which the bail was accepted on PR Bond of Rs 1 lakh and with more sureties in the amount. If Aryan and others are found violating any of those conditions, the NCB can move the NDPS court to cancel their bail.

The court, in its order, has said the accused shall not indulge in any activity similar to the activities on the basis of which the said case stands registered against them, for offences under the NDPS Act. The accused should also not try to establish communication with co-accused or any other person involved directly or indirectly in similar activities, or make any call to any person indulging in similar activities as alleged against them, through any mode of communication.

Aryan and the other accused have also been asked to not influence any witness in the case. They also have to surrender their passports and not leave the country without the permission of the court. The court has also ordered that the accused  shall not make any statement regarding the aforesaid proceedings pending before the Special Court in any form of media i.e. print, electronic, etc. including social media. Aryan and the others also have to inform the NCB before leaving the city and visit its office between 11 am and 2 pm every Friday.

On Friday evening after receiving operative part of the order, Aryans legal team reached the special NDPS court to complete the formalities of bail along with actress Juhi Chawla, who gave the surety for him as she knows him since his childhood.  The entire formality took time and release papers could not reach Arthur Road Jail. The Jail authorities have confirmed to mid-day that Aryan and others will be released today after they receive release papers, the bail box opens at 5.30 am and again at 10.30 am. Aryan and others are expected to walk out of prison at around 11:30 am.