India's former atorney General Mukul Rohatgi had represented Aryan Khan in the Bombay High Court. (File)
Highlights
- SRK had "given up all his professional activities," Mukul Rohatgi said
- "SRK has been very worried the last three-four days," Mr Rohatgi said
- Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan had not attended Aryan's court hearings
Megastar Shah Rukh Khan greeted the news of bail for his son, Aryan Khan -- arrested earlier this month in connection with the drugs-on-cruise case -- with "tears of joy", said India's former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, who represented him in the Bombay High Court. The actor, Mr Rohatgi said, had "given up all his professional activities".
"He has been very, very worried the last three-four days that I was there and I'm not even sure whether he had proper meals. He was just having coffee after coffee. And he was very, very worried. And I could see a big sense of relief, yeah, on the father's face last time I met him," Mr Rohatgi told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
Twice earlier, Aryan Khan's bail had been refused and the 23-year-old has spent 24 days in jail.
Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan had not attended the hearings. But after his bail was refused the last time, Mr Khan went to meet Aryan at Mumbai's Arthur Road jail on October 21.
Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and model Munmun Dhamecha were granted bail by the Bombay High Court yesterday evening. Their release can happen only after the High Court's written order tomorrow – enabling them to celebrate Diwali at home.
In Aryan Khan's case, he would also be able to be with his father on his birthday, November2.
Asked how traumatic these 24 days were for his parents, Mr Rohatgi said, "Unfortunately, they had lost in the lower court. So it came to the High Court and one month has gone by. And the parents were very, very worried. That is why they were taking a very great interest in the case".
Shah Rukh Khan, he said, "had given up all his professional activities". "And he was very much available at all times. He was in fact making notes to help his legal team," Mr Rohatgi told NDTV.
In Bombay High court, Mr Rohatgi had argued that no drugs were found on Aryan Khan and the anti-drugs agency Narcotics Control Bureau had very flimsy grounds for arrest. The NCB's case against him was built entirely on two-year-old WhatsApp chats that were "irrelevant" and had nothing to do with the cruise, Mr Rohatgi told the court. Under the circumstances, the arrest, he contended, was wrong and infringed on Aryan Khan's constitutional guarantees.
He also brushed off the special court's argument that Aryan Khan knew about the charas hidden in his friend Arbaaz Merchant's shoe, which amounted to "conscious possession". Calling the view far-fetched, Mr Rohatgi said, "here is no question of conscious possession. Arbaaz is not my servant, he is not in my control".